VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 16,
2024 /PRNewswire/ - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX:
TKO) (NYSE American: TGB) (LSE: TKO) ("Taseko" or the "Company") is
pleased to provide an update on financing and construction progress
at its Florence Copper project.
On January 15, 2024, the Company
signed a definitive agreement with Taurus Mining Royalty Fund L.P.
("Taurus") for the previously announced sale of a US$50 million royalty. The royalty will be for
1.95% of the gross revenue from the sale of all copper from
Florence Copper. Funding of the US$50
million is subject to customary closing conditions, and
proceeds are expected to be received in early February. The Company
also expects to drawdown the first US$10 million of the US$50
million Mitsui financing later this month. With these
financings in hand, construction activities at Florence will be accelerating.
To date, site activities have focussed on site preparations,
earthworks and civil work for the commercial wellfield. The initial
drilling contracts are now being finalized, with drilling of the
commercial facility wellfield to commence in February.
Additionally, the Company expects to sign a fixed-price contract
with TIC Kiewit as general contractor for construction of the
SX/EW plant and associated surface infrastructure. All the major
plant components are onsite and the build will begin in the second
quarter of this year.
Stuart McDonald, President &
CEO of Taseko, commented, "Signing of the Taurus royalty agreement
is another positive milestone for the project. We are excited to be
ramping up construction activities at Florence Copper, which will
soon be a major new supplier of low-carbon copper cathode to the US
market.
Site preparations and civil work are well advanced, and we're
looking forward to commencing wellfield drilling, with four rigs
planned to be onsite initially. Construction of the SX/EW plant and
other infrastructure represents a significant portion of the
remaining project spend, and a fixed-price contract with TIC Kiewit
will reduce inflationary risks, as Arizona continues to be a very active
construction market. Our early work on detailed engineering and
procurement of long-lead items has significantly de-risked the
construction schedule and we're tracking towards first copper
production in the fourth quarter of 2025. We're taking a
disciplined approach to the buildout of the commercial
facility at Florence, while our
existing operations at the Gibraltar Mine continue to generate good
cashflows in a strong copper price environment."
"As an existing copper producer, Taseko is in an enviable and
unique position with near-term, low cost production growth coming
from a fully-permitted and environmentally beneficial copper
project. With copper now added to the US Department of Energy's
critical materials list, market interest in our project and future
copper production remains strong," added Mr. McDonald.
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.sedar.com, including the "Risk Factors"
included in our Annual Information Form.
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SOURCE Taseko Mines Limited