VANCOUVER, June 20, 2019 /CNW/ - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX:
TKO; NYSE American: TGB) ("Taseko" or the "Company") is pleased to
announce that it has submitted the Aquifer Protection Permit
("APP") amendment application to the Arizona Department of
Environmental Quality ("ADEQ"). The APP is one of two key permit
amendments which are required for commercial production at the
Company's Florence Copper Project. The permit amendment application
for the Underground Injection Control Permit will be made to the US
Environmental Protection Agency in the coming weeks.
Russell Hallbauer, Chief
Executive Officer of Taseko, commented, "This past week, after
roughly six months of operating the test facility, the leach
solution reached commercial grade levels, well in advance of our
anticipated timeframe. Based on previous bench-scale testing, we
expected it would take upwards of a year to reach target solution
grade, so we are obviously extremely pleased to have achieved this
milestone after such a short period of time. The grade of the leach
solution coming from our main recovery well is approximately 1,600
parts per million of copper in solution and would be comparable to
a typical open pit, low cost heap leach operation. The main
difference between Florence Copper and other leach operations is
that we have no mining costs associated with our in situ leach
process, making Florence Copper when in commercial operation, one
of the lowest cost operations globally."
"The main focus of the test facility, beyond ensuring we achieve
all the technical targets of our feasibility study, will be
building our on-the-ground operational experience to streamline the
transition to commercial production. Based on the knowledge we have
gained in the last six months, the benefits of the two phase
approach (production test facility followed by the commercial
facility) will significantly improve the ramp up of the final
commercial scale operation," added Mr. Hallbauer.
Stuart McDonald, President of
Taseko, stated, "Financing for the commercial production facility
is progressing with multiple options continuing to be pursued. We
have initiated discussions with potential lenders and financing
partners and we remain on track to have a plan formalized in the
coming months. We now have the three key initiatives – technical,
permitting and financing – all aligned for our project to be
construction-ready in the first half of 2020. With cash costs of
US$1.10 per pound and a C$1 billion net present value, Florence Copper
will transform Taseko into a multi-asset, low cost copper producer
in stable jurisdictions. We will continue to de-risk and steadily
move the project towards production in 2021, increasing Taseko's
attributable annual copper production to approximately 190 million
pounds per year."
The Florence Copper NI 43-101 technical report is available
on www.sedar.com or the Company's website
at www.tasekomines.com.
Russell Hallbauer
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" within the
meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and the
United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
(collectively, "forward looking statements") that were based on
Taseko's expectations, estimates and projections as of the dates as
of which those statements were made. Any statements that express,
or involve discussions as to, expectations, believes, plans,
objectives, assumptions or future events or performance that are
not historical facts, are forward-looking statements.
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 and costs related to the Company's exploration
and development activities, such as those associated with
continuity of mineralization or determining whether mineral
resources or reserves exist on a property;
- uncertainties related to the accuracy of our estimates of
mineral reserves, mineral resources, production rates and timing of
production, future production and future cash and total costs of
production and milling;
- uncertainties related to feasibility studies that provide
estimates of expected or anticipated costs, expenditures and
economic returns from a mining project;
- uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary title,
licenses and permits for development projects and project delays
due to third party opposition;
- our ability to comply with the extensive governmental
regulation to which our business is subject;
- 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, particularly laws, regulations
and policies;
- changes in general economic conditions, the financial markets
and in the demand and market price for copper, gold and other
minerals and commodities, such as diesel fuel, 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;
- the effects of forward selling instruments to protect against
fluctuations in copper prices and exchange rate movements and the
risks of counterparty defaults, and mark to market risk;
- the risk of inadequate insurance or inability to obtain
insurance to cover mining risks;
- the risk of loss of key employees; 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;
- 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 mines, or environmental hazards, industrial accidents,
equipment failure or other events or occurrences, including third
party interference that interrupt the production of minerals in our
mines;
- the availability of, and uncertainties relating to the
development of, infrastructure necessary for the development of our
projects;
- our reliance upon key personnel; and
- uncertainties relating to increased competition and conditions
in the mining capital markets.
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