Copper prices surged, helping Teck Resources (TECK.US) to exceed expectations for Q2 earnings.

Canada's Teck Resources Ltd. (TECK.US) reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings Wednesday, boosted by higher copper prices and increased production at its Chilean Quebrada Blanca copper mine.

Copper prices, which remain high for the second quarter in a market betting on interest-rate cuts and supply concerns, hit a record in May, according to the company.

Teck Resources said copper prices were up 15 per cent year-over-year, averaging $4.42 a pound. The company produced 1.104 million tonnes of copper in the second quarter, up 71 per cent from a year earlier.

However, the company cut its full-year copper production guidance to 435,000 to 500,000 tonnes from 500,000 to 550,000 tonnes, due to "short-term access restrictions due to mine dewatering and localized rock issues" at the Quebrada Blanca mine.

Second-quarter coking coal production was 630,000 tonnes, up from 580,000 tonnes in the same period last year, and sales were 640,000 tonnes, up from 620,000 tonnes in the same period last year.

Earlier this month, Teck Resources said it had completed the sale of its remaining 77 per cent stake in its coking coal business to Glencore, a Swiss mining company. The deal was announced last year, when Teck Resources was looking to establish its own copper business.