Exhibit 4.4
[LETTERHEAD OF TECK COMINCO LIMITED]
July 17, 2007
British Columbia Securities Commission
Alberta Securities Commission
Saskatchewan Financial Services Commission
The Manitoba Securities Commission
Ontario Securities Commission
Autorité des marchés financiers
New Brunswick Securities Commission
Nova Scotia Securities Commission
Prince Edward Island Securities Office
Securities Commission of Newfoundland and Labrador
Yukon Registrar of Securities
Northwest Territories Registrar of Securities
Nunavut Registrar of Securities
Toronto Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Dear Sirs:
Re: | Teck Cominco Limited |
|
| Consent of Expert |
|
In connection with the offer to purchase of Teck Cominco Limited for all of the outstanding common shares of Aur Resources Inc. dated July 17, 2007 (the “Offer to Purchase”), I hereby consent to the use of my name in connection with references to my involvement in the preparation of the mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates for Teck Cominco Limited’s material properties, other than Antamina, Elkview, Fording River, Greenhills, Coal Mountain, Line Creek and Cardinal River (the “Estimates”) and to the use of the Estimates, or portions thereof, in the following instances:
(a) In Teck Cominco Limited’s Annual Information Form dated February 26, 2007 (the “AIF”) under the heading “MINERAL RESERVES AND RESOURCES – Mineral Reserves at December 31, 2006”; and
(b) In the AIF under the heading “MINERAL RESERVES AND RESOURCES – Mineral Resources at December 31, 2006”.
I also consent to the use of my name and references to the Estimates, or portions thereof, and to the inclusion or incorporation by reference of information derived from the Estimates in the Offer to Purchase and the registration statement on Form F-8 filed with the United States
Securities Exchange Commission on July 17, 2007 of Teck Cominco Limited (the “Registration Statement”).
I have read the Offer to Purchase and the Registration Statement of Teck Cominco Limited and have no reason to believe that there are any misrepresentations in the information contained therein that are derived from the Estimates or that are within my knowledge as a result of the preparation of the Estimates.
Yours truly,
/s/ PAUL C. BANKES
Paul C. Bankes, P.Geo
2