I think I remember reading an interview with Don Lindsay where he was quite candid about the at acquisition in the midst of the commodities market collapsing, and his feeling of panic and worry.

I'm sure in hindsight there are many important people at Teck who realize that it was a terrible time to make that purchase, but Teck is a solid company and have a good long term plan. That decision will eventually bring them profit too. China's economy, and the rest of the world can't remain stagnant forever. It's been a godawful long slump, but eventually the world is going to need coking coal and iron again. At least copper has held up well compared to the rest of the metals.