Jonathan Price learned the biggest lessons of his career in his first job and worked at a nickel refinery near his hometown of Swangey.
His role, a fresh graduate who acquired Oxford degree in metal studies, was to change how workers are making new type of nickel -based materials. The crew was immediately revealed. Some of them worked in the refined place longer than they had lived, but were very interested in being told what to do. The price learned that when he put himself at night shifts and swing the spanner with the team, it would be more than anything else.
“It was a very fun learning experience,” said the highest executive manager of TECK ResourceS, a $ 22 billion of $ 22 billion, one of the world’s top producers of copper and zinc. PRICE recalls. “I realized that I was doing the same thing in the Pilbara and Bohen basin 20 years later. I have to convince the general manager of mining business that changing their work style will improve. ”
Price, a 25 -year veteran in the industry, has been operating a TECK based in Vancouver for the past two years after joining the Supreme Finance Officer in 2020. As a CEO, his initial plan to rebuild the company by dividing into two businesses -coal and metal -In April 2023, the Swiss mining worker Glencore is dramatically in a hostile acquisition as a plan Derailed.
Price had to suddenly control Tech for many years of aggressive and intense merger for many years. He claimed that it was a non -starter, and he defended the company from Glencore’s bidding.
TECK’s owned structure has stopped unnecessary progress. Its Supertie shares is managed by the company’s former highest executive and founder son, Norman Keevil. Eventually, TECK did not spin a business to shareholders as originally planned, but in the second half of the year, in the second half of that year, the coal business led by the GLENCORE -led consortium.
Price remembers defense against Glencore as a “challenging time”, including nights in the office, leaving telephone linger at all times and talking to shareholders around the world.
One of the biggest sets was that TECK did not have enough votes to support the proposal of dividing the company into two, so when it was forced to cancel the scheduled shareholder voting time. It was.
The period was “the next level of strength”, but the price is, but his team drew it together. When he talks about his experience, he seems surprisingly quiet. “The intense period you have is also the biggest learning experience,” he explains. “It takes a lot of time to knock out from the course.”
Some of the resilience come from tragedy. Price was 17 years old, who died of illness within a few months, and became orphans without brothers and close families. “Almost all events that can be considered in business and professional contexts will be pale compared to it,” he says. “Of course, I do it, so it doesn’t mean that we don’t deal with very strength, serious, and diligent events. I think it can be maintained.
Price also believes that parents have planted the value of diligence and respect. “It was a very formal event,” he says. “I certainly changed who I was, but it influenced the way I thought about how to work, between my role, my leadership, and the rest of my career. “
In addition, I drove the price to go to college. His father has never obtained a college degree and respects education. He was able to study metal and metal due to the early obsession with bicycles and racing bikes used by Chris Boardman at the 1992 Olympics.
TECK, the largest copper producer in the world and the third largest zinc producer in zinc, has a plan to invest in the copper business using the revenue from coal sales. This includes the expansion of production at the Kubla Dablanca mine in northern Chile and the development of a new green field mine in Mexico and Peru.
“I like the change process,” says Price. “I enjoy such a change that I enjoy.”
It is expected that copper used in everything, from electric wires to grid frustration and data centers, has high demand as energy transitions collect pace. This promoted strategic changes throughout the mining, including Anglo American’s BHP’s £ 39 billion bidding last year. The price eventually spent 14 years at BHP before joining TECK as the maximum change in charge.
“There is a major tailwind about the demand for new copper here. This is combined with an environment where there are not so many copper projects at advanced stages,” says Price. “Demand is being implemented much faster than supply.”
Many analysts and bankers expect the TECK copper assets, which are highly valued from other areas in the industry, will continue to be the acquisition goal.
However, if TECK trades, you will be able to select a partner. The government rewrote the acquisition guidelines to prevent hostile transactions in resource sector, as the rage in Canada over the attempts of the acquisition of Glencore. The government said last year that the future acquisition of a Canadian mining company would only be approved in the most exceptional situation.
The price will not be drawn to future transactions, but he believes that mining has passed the integration period. During the last M & A boom in the mid -2000s, he worked at ABN AMRO’s investment bank. He says, “I’m going to see more activities from the perspective of M & A.”
Memories of working in finance will inform him of his approach to work. He describes the transition from Nickel Refinery to Investment Bank as “the biggest culture shock in my life.” He says the refining place is sticking to the daily schedule of “intensive and disciplined”. “You arrive at 6:30 am (then) and execute. At 4:00 pm or 5 pm, the whistle blew and the work on that day is over.” In the banking industry, the price is in the morning. He was the only person in the office at 9 o’clock, and before working to complete the pitch deck until 2:00 am, he often drank coffee and prepare for lunch. “I just thought about myself, this is crazy.”
The price is concerned about the impact of the Trump administration. The US President has stated that all products from Canada and Mexico will impose 25 % tariffs. “Customs and trade barriers are not helpful in the flow of product trade,” says Price.
Since the bankers are increasingly focusing on securing access to rare resources such as copper and cobalt, which is necessary for the transition of energy I hope it will be difficult.
TECK’s business is spreading to our Canadian border. The mining zinc in the Alaska red dog mining, sophisticated ore at a Canadian trail smelter, and sells final products including zinc, lead and germanium. The United States and global.
In addition to free trade, the price hopes that the price is allowed to be reformed that the country can use domestic resources to speed up. “If you don’t mined copper faster, there is a risk in energy transition. It is necessary to support energy transition.” “And without it, we can’t deliver energy transition at the pace where the world relys on us to deliver us.”
One day of Jonasan Price Life
6:00 am -I wake up with coffee and fruits. I was at the site of Canada, Chile and Mexico. Vancouver headquarters or other places. Check out emails, news and market movements and try to secure at least one hour of thinking.
In the morning -usually check -in with the leadership team, the calling of investors, and the engagement of stakeholders, usually, you will meet heavy things. The internal meeting always begins with a safe discussion. This is the most important thing for our business.
1:00 pm -Lunch, usually a quick tuna sandwich on my desk.
Afternoon -Another meeting round. In all interactions, I listen and provide input. I keep time to deal with issues that occur during the day or to get involved with employees.
In the evening -I usually reduce pressure, look back on the day, and go to run to know what I need to be careful tomorrow. When I travel, I usually meet events and business partners. When I’m at home, I have dinner with my wife.
