I think it is a positive thing. It shows that Teck is interested in investing more capital into the production of copper. As has been pointed out, even if they buy schaft creek, it's not something that will meet the demand for copper in the next couple of years. Teck is thinking about making money in the near future based on increased copper demand, and I think all of the talk about there being a copper surplus is way overblown.
Teck will also be thinking about where they want to be 5 or 10 years from now, and it's projects like schaft creek they will be interested in as it will provide them with sustained output longer term.
I think it sends a signal that they're bullish on copper and see value in mining it, even at the prices quoted to pull it out of the ground at Zaldivar. If they're happy getting it at $2/pound in the short term as quoted by YourNadir, think of how attractive Schaft creek looks.