Taseko Mines Provides Construction Update for Florence Copper
21 Oktober 2024 - 2:00PM
Taseko Mines Limited (TSX: TKO; NYSE MKT: TGB; LSE: TKO) ("Taseko"
or the "Company") is pleased to provide a progress update for
construction activities at its Florence Copper project.
To date, approximately 300,000 project hours
have been worked and there have been no reportable injuries or
environmental incidents. There are currently 280 construction
personnel at site. All activities are advancing on schedule and as
of September 30, 2024, the project is approaching 40% complete.
First copper production is still anticipated in the fourth quarter
2025.
Since construction commenced earlier this year,
the bulk of activities have been focused on earthworks, concrete,
and wellfield drilling. Installation of structural steel, tanks,
and process equipment is now underway.
Summary of key activities and status as of
September 30, 2024:
- Earthworks and
site preparation for the plant area and commercial wellfield – ~75%
complete
- Concrete
foundations for SX/EW plant and associated infrastructure – ~50%
complete
- Pre-assembly and
installation of structural steel for the solvent extraction plant
commenced in August
- Installation of
process equipment commenced in September
- Powerline
installation – ~65% complete
- Wellfield
drilling – a total of 34 production wells completed to date, out of
a total of 90 to be drilled during the construction phase
- Point of
compliance well drilling – 9 wells completed to date, out of a
total of 18
- Construction of
process and surface water runoff ponds
- Hiring permanent
operating staff – 75 of 170 total positions and all but one key
management position has been filled
Stuart McDonald, President & CEO of Taseko,
commented, “We are pleased with progress through the first nine
months of construction. With approximately 75% of total
construction costs now committed, we expect total costs to be
within 10-15% of the original US$232 million* estimate. The project
remains on track for first copper production in late 2025, which
will be a transformative event for our Company.”
“In addition, we have applied to the U.S.
Department of Energy’s Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credit
(48C) Program. Florence Copper, which is set to become North
America’s lowest GHG-intensity primary copper producer, qualifies
as a critical materials project. After submitting a concept paper
in June, we received encouragement to proceed with the full
application. We have now filed the application seeking a tax credit
of up to US $110 million, and we expect to hear whether Florence
qualifies for the credit, or not, in January 2025,” concluded Mr.
McDonald.
The Company recently hosted a Florence Copper
site tour and the associated presentation can be found on our
website at
https://tasekomines.com/investors/documents-and-reports/corporate-presentations/.
Additionally, updated construction photos can be found on our
website at
https://tasekomines.com/properties/florence-copper/#construction-updates.
*Based on the Florence Copper 43-101 Technical
Report dated March 15, 2023, with costing basis Q3 2022.
For further information on Taseko, see the
Company’s website at www.tasekomines.com or contact:
Investor enquiries Brian Bergot, Vice President,
Investor Relations – 778-373-4554
Stuart McDonaldPresident and CEO
No regulatory authority has approved or
disapproved of the information contained in this news release.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking
Information
This document contains “forward-looking
statements” that were based on Taseko’s expectations, estimates and
projections as of the dates as of which those statements were made.
Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by
the use of forward-looking terminology such as “outlook”,
“anticipate”, “project”, “target”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”,
“intend”, “should” and similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements are subject to known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause
the Company’s actual results, level of activity, performance or
achievements to be materially different from those expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. These included but are
not limited to:
- uncertainties about the future
market price of copper and the other metals that we produce or may
seek to produce;
- changes in general economic
conditions, the financial markets, inflation and interest rates and
in the demand and market price for our input costs, such as diesel
fuel, reagents, steel, concrete, electricity and other forms of
energy, mining equipment, and fluctuations in exchange rates,
particularly with respect to the value of the U.S. dollar and
Canadian dollar, and the continued availability of capital and
financing;
- uncertainties resulting from the
war in Ukraine, and the accompanying international response
including economic sanctions levied against Russia, which has
disrupted the global economy, created increased volatility in
commodity markets (including oil and gas prices), and disrupted
international trade and financial markets, all of which have an
ongoing and uncertain effect on global economics, supply chains,
availability of materials and equipment and execution timelines for
project development;
- uncertainties about the continuing
impact of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) and the response of
local, provincial, state, federal and international governments to
the ongoing threat of COVID-19, on our operations (including our
suppliers, customers, supply chains, employees and contractors) and
economic conditions generally including rising inflation levels and
in particular with respect to the demand for copper and other
metals we produce;
- inherent risks associated with
mining operations, including our current mining operations at
Gibraltar, and their potential impact on our ability to achieve our
production estimates;
- uncertainties as to our ability to
control our operating costs, including inflationary cost pressures
at Gibraltar without impacting our planned copper production;
- the risk of inadequate insurance or
inability to obtain insurance to cover material mining or
operational risks;
- uncertainties related to the
feasibility study for Florence copper project (the “Florence Copper
Project” or “Florence Copper”) that provides estimates of expected
or anticipated capital and operating costs, expenditures and
economic returns from this mining project, including the impact of
inflation on the estimated costs related to the construction of the
Florence Copper Project and our other development projects;
- the risk that the results from our
operations of the Florence Copper production test facility (“PTF”)
and ongoing engineering work including updated capital and
operating costs will negatively impact our estimates for current
projected economics for commercial operations at Florence
Copper;
- uncertainties related to the
accuracy of our estimates of Mineral Reserves (as defined below),
Mineral Resources (as defined below), production rates and timing
of production, future production and future cash and total costs of
production and milling;
- the risk that we may not be able to
expand or replace reserves as our existing mineral reserves are
mined;
- the availability of, and
uncertainties relating to the development of, additional financing
and infrastructure necessary for the advancement of our development
projects, including with respect to our ability to obtain any
remaining construction financing potentially needed to move forward
with commercial operations at Florence Copper;
- our ability to comply with the
extensive governmental regulation to which our business is
subject;
- uncertainties related to our
ability to obtain necessary title, licenses and permits for our
development projects and project delays due to third party
opposition;
- our ability to deploy strategic
capital and award key contracts to assist with protecting the
Florence Copper project execution plan, mitigating inflation risk
and the potential impact of supply chain disruptions on our
construction schedule and ensuring a smooth transition into
construction;
- uncertainties related to First
Nations claims and consultation issues;
- our reliance on rail transportation
and port terminals for shipping our copper concentrate production
from Gibraltar;
- uncertainties related to unexpected
judicial or regulatory proceedings;
- changes in, and the effects of, the
laws, regulations and government policies affecting our exploration
and development activities and mining operations and mine closure
and bonding requirements;
- our dependence solely on our 87.5%
interest in Gibraltar (as defined below) for revenues and operating
cashflows;
- our ability to collect payments
from customers, extend existing concentrate off-take agreements or
enter into new agreements;
- environmental issues and
liabilities associated with mining including processing and stock
piling ore;
- labour strikes, work stoppages, or
other interruptions to, or difficulties in, the employment of
labour in markets in which we operate our mine, industrial
accidents, equipment failure or other events or occurrences,
including third party interference that interrupt the production of
minerals in our mine;
- environmental hazards and risks
associated with climate change, including the potential for damage
to infrastructure and stoppages of operations due to forest fires,
flooding, drought, or other natural events in the vicinity of our
operations;
- litigation risks and the inherent
uncertainty of litigation, including litigation to which Florence
Copper could be subject to;
- our actual costs of reclamation and
mine closure may exceed our current estimates of these
liabilities;
- our ability to meet the financial
reclamation security requirements for the Gibraltar mine and
Florence Project;
- the capital intensive nature of our
business both to sustain current mining operations and to develop
any new projects, including Florence Copper;
- our reliance upon key management
and operating personnel;
- the competitive environment in
which we operate;
- the effects of forward selling
instruments to protect against fluctuations in copper prices,
foreign exchange, interest rates or input costs such as fuel;
- the risk of changes in accounting
policies and methods we use to report our financial condition,
including uncertainties associated with critical accounting
assumptions and estimates; and Management Discussion and Analysis
(“MD&A”), quarterly reports and material change reports filed
with and furnished to securities regulators, and those risks which
are discussed under the heading “Risk Factors”.
For further information on Taseko, investors
should review the Company’s annual Form 40-F filing with the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission www.sec.gov and home
jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedarplus.ca,
including the “Risk Factors” included in our Annual Information
Form.
A photo accompanying this announcement is
available
athttps://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0d8251a6-4f68-466e-9071-b6de8b08ac19
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