Teck Resources (NYSE:TCK) Outperforms Diversified Mining Peers

While their major competitors were all dropping in share price on Wednesday, Teck Resources (NYSE:TCK) was able to carve out a good day as their share price rose, and the company said they're going to raise their dividend by an additional 50 percent.

Raising dividends usually gives a company a boost as it signals they're confident in their ability to generate earnings for shareholders in the period ahead.

It also implies they believe commodity prices will continue to rise in the future.

Tech has had to hold back their dividend because of their acquisition of Fording in the middle of 2008, when they took on $9.8 billion in short-term debt to finance the deal. Tech paid that off earlier in 2010.

Chief Executive Officer Don Lindsay said, "This dividend increase reflects our confidence in our current balance sheet strength and our ability to fund our strong portfolio of growth assets."