Canadian diversified miner Teck Resources expects that coking coal markets will be “quite tight” over the next two to three years, and sees recent weakness in the sector as more of a temporary blip, CEO Don Lindsay indicated on Jul 28.

Vancouver-based Teck is the second-biggest producer of seaborne hard coking coal, behind BHP Billiton, after the company's 2008 acquisition of Fording Canadian Coal.

Spot prices for coking coal have declined from as high as $240/t, to as low as around $188/t, and then more recently back up by five dollars or six dollars.

Although key customers have slowed their purchases in the spot market, there have been no changes or rescheduling to any of Teck's contracted shipments.