Taseko Mines Announces Receipt of Final Permit FOR the Florence Copper Project
TASEKO MINES ANNOUNCES RECEIPT OF FINAL PERMIT FOR
THE FLORENCE COPPER PROJECT
VANCOUVER, BC
,
Sept. 14, 2023
/CNW/ - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX: TKO) (NYSE American: TGB) (LSE: TKO) ("Taseko" or the
"Company") is pleased to announce that the US Environment Protection Agency ("EPA") has issued a final Underground Injection Control
Permit ("UIC") for the Florence Copper Project ("Florence Copper" or the "Project").
Stuart McDonald
, President and CEO of Taseko, commented, "Receipt of this final permit is an exciting milestone for Taseko and a
testament to the project's strong environmental attributes. We now have one of a very few construction-ready, fully permitted copper
projects in
North America
. With approvals in place from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and now the EPA, we can
commence construction of the Florence Copper commercial production facility. This achievement is a major stride forward and a result of
Taseko's long-term approach to project development, environmental protection, and community engagement."
Mr. McDonald continued, "With procurement well advanced, the next steps will be mobilization of contractors for the wellfield and SX/EW
plant construction. We continue to advance discussions with potential lenders and royalty providers for the remainder of the project financing
package and expect to have additional commitments in place before construction spending ramps up."
When commercial operations begin, Florence Copper will have an annual production capacity of 85 million pounds of copper at
US$1.11
per
pound C1 cash costs over a 22-year mine life. Based on a
March 2023
Technical Report for the Project, which is supported by results from
the successful operation of a production test facility, the Project has an after-tax NPV (8%) of
US$930 million
at a copper price of
US$3.75
per pound.
"The Florence Copper Project is one of the least capital-intensive copper projects in the world and will have an environmental footprint
smaller than any conventional open-pit or underground mining operation of comparable size. Low water use, low energy consumption and
low carbon emissions make Florence Copper an exceptionally green project that will supply refined copper to the rapidly growing US
domestic market," concluded Mr. McDonald.
The Florence Copper NI 43-101 technical report is available on
www.sedar.com
or the Company's website at
www.tasekomines.com
.
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".
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
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%SEDAR: 00003212E
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
CO: Taseko Mines Limited
CNW 08:30e 14-SEP-23