Taseko Provides Financing and Construction Update for
the Florence Copper
Project
VANCOUVER,
BC, Jan. 16, 2024 - 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.
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