“Adverse weather conditions in southeast British Columbia which started in December are expected to negatively affect production capacity in the first quarter,” the company said Wednesday.

CP Rail issued a force majeure notice January 17 reporting avalanche conditions in and around the Rogers Pass area of the province which were affecting the movement of coal rail loads.

Earlier, on January 12, Teck’s main port facility, Westshore Terminals, announced it had a mechanical failure which was expected to shrink the port’s capacities for two weeks or more.

Lastly, weather is also putting a wrinkle in the recommissioning of the Greenhills mine coal dryer and shipping of wet coal.

Based on its latest information, Teck said, first-quarter coal sales are expected to be in the range of 5-5.5 million tonnes, compared to 5.25Mt a year ago.

For the whole year, Teck is expecting planned sales of 24.5-25.5Mt, assuming no labor disruptions and a prompt resumption of rail service to typical levels.

In related news, the producer’s collective agreement at the Elkview mine has expired; negotiations there are ongoing. Fording River’s collective agreement is also due to expire on April 30.