Taseko Mines Provides Construction Update for Florence
Copper
October 21,
2024, Vancouver, BC -
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 McDonald
President 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.