VANCOUVER, BC, July 13,
2023 /PRNewswire/ - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX:
TKO) (NYSE American: TGB) (LSE: TKO) ("Taseko" or the "Company") is
pleased to provide an update on a number of recent financing
initiatives.
On June 30, Taseko's corporate
revolving credit facility was increased from US$50 million to US$80
million. The accordion feature, which was added and
announced in January, was fully underwritten and credit approved by
ING Capital LLC who joins alongside the existing lender, National
Bank. The corporate facility is available for general
corporate purposes, including to support the capital needs of the
Florence Copper project. The credit facility matures in
July 2026 and is secured by first
liens against Taseko's rights under the Gibraltar joint venture as well as the shares
of Gibraltar Mines Ltd., Curis Holdings (Canada) Ltd., and Florence Holdings Inc. and
contains customary covenants for a facility of this nature.
Also in late June, the Company closed an additional silver
stream sale to Osisko Gold Royalties ("Osisko") for US$10.25 million for its incremental 12.5% share
of Gibraltar Mine that Taseko purchased in March of this year from
Sojitz Corporation. Taseko also extended the silver delivery
threshold to coincide with the Company's recently updated mineral
reserve estimate.
Stuart McDonald, President &
CEO of Taseko, stated, "The permitting process at Florence Copper
is nearing an end and as we prepare for construction our focus is
to ensure we have a strong balance sheet and a solid financing plan
in place. We continue to evaluate construction financing proposals
which will complement our current liquidity and the two
transactions previously announced with Mitsui (US$50 million) and Bank of America (US$25 million). We have recently engaged
Endeavour Financial to assist in executing on these financing
initiatives and are confident that we can close the transactions
needed to provide the capital for construction of the Florence
Copper commercial production facility.
We have not issued any shares to-date under the US$50 million At-The-Market equity facility
announced in May. This facility is an alternative financing option
for Taseko but with no obligation for us to use."
For further information on Taseko, see the Company's website at
www.tasekomines.com or contact:
Brian Bergot, Vice President,
Investor Relations - 778-373-4533 or toll free 1-877-441-4533
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, particularly in respect to
Florence Copper that requires one key regulatory permit from the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") in order to advance to
commercial operations;
- 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 once the final permit is
received from the EPA;
- 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 75% 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".
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SOURCE Taseko Mines Limited