Teck Resources and Ridley Terminals have reached an agreement on terms for the shipment of steel making coal from Teck's mines in British Columbia and Alberta for a ten-year term from January 2015 to December 2024, with an option to extend the term for a further two years.

Under this agreement, Teck will ship 2.5 million tonnes of coal per year throughout the contract period.

The new agreement is a successor to an existing agreement expiring at the end of 2014, which allows Teck to ship up to 1.2 million tonnes in 2011 and 2012 and up to 4.2 million tonnes in 2013 and 2014, pending the re-start of the company’s Quintette mine operation.

An additional existing agreement allows 500,000 tonnes per year to be shipped through 28 February 2021.

Ridley Terminals is a Canadian federal Crown corporation currently expanding its handling capacity by 12 million tonnes to 24 million tonnes.