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July 28 (Reuters) - Canadian miner Teck Resources Ltd TCKb.TO TCK.N reported a 76 percent fall in quarterly profit, hurt by lower volumes and prices.
A global commodity rout had pushed coal and copper prices to multi-year lows, forcing miners to sell assets, lay off workers, and cut dividends and capital spending to preserve cash and reduce debt.
Teck, the largest producer of steel-making coal in North America, said it sold 6.3 million tonnes of coal in the quarter ended June 30. The company had expected coal sales to exceed 6.5 million tonnes for the period.
The company, however, said the construction of the Fort Hills oil sands project in northern Alberta is more than 60 percent complete and reiterated that it was on track for first oil production by late 2017, despite a nearly four-week halt to construction due to wildfires in Fort McMurray.
Teck owns a 20 percent stake in Fort Hills, which is majority owned by Suncor Energy Inc SU.TO .
Teck's net profit attributable to shareholders fell to C$15 million ($11.4 million), or 3 Canadian cents per share, for the second quarter ended June 30, from C$63 million, or 11 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier. certain one-off items, the company, which also mines zinc and copper, earned 1 Canadian cent per share, compared with 14 Canadian cents it earned a year earlier.
The Vancouver-based company's revenue fell nearly 13 percent to C$1.74 billion. ($1 = 1.31 Canadian dollars)