VANCOUVER, March 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Taseko
Mines Limited (TSX: TKO; NYSE American: TGB; LSE: TKO) ("Taseko" or
the "Company") wishes to provide an update on the current status of
its Gibraltar Mine and other corporate initiatives, in light of the
global impact from COVID-19. To-date, there have been no known
cases of COVID-19 at any of Taseko's operations or offices in
Canada and the US.
The Gibraltar Mine has operated at planned rates in the first
quarter and copper production is expected to be approximately 32
million pounds (100% basis). At this time there have been no
interruptions to our logistics and supply chains, and sales are
expected to be in line with production for the quarter.
Russell Hallbauer, CEO and
Director of Taseko, stated, "The health and safety of our employees
is the most important aspect of our business. We believe it's
important to protect the safety of our employees as well as their
continued employment, both important factors at this time. To this
end, the mine implemented many procedures in advance of the health
authorities' directives to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 impacting
our employees and our mining operations. Our entire workforce has
been fully engaged in this process. In the event illness does occur
among some of our employees, these procedures are designed to curb
wide-spread infection among other employees. As during the
devastating forest fires of 2017, the resolve of our entire
workforce is impressive in this time of crisis, which is why we
have been extremely diligent and taking extra precautions at all
our work sites. While we have not had any known occurrences of
COVID-19 anywhere in the organization, we will remain focused on
protecting our employees until the risk subsides."
"During unprecedented events like we are currently facing, we
rely on our operational experience more than ever. With copper put
options securing a minimum price of US$2.60 per pound until the end of April, we have
the benefit of some additional time to adjust to a lower copper
price environment. Operating costs are dropping with over 30
percent lower diesel price as an example. In fact, we took
advantage of the much lower diesel price and locked in a price that
will reduce costs by more than $6
million in 2020. We expect decreases in other areas such as
explosives, grinding media and other inputs. The BC Hydro power
cost deferral program initiated in 2016, which allows Taseko to
defer up to 75% of Gibraltar's
power costs, is still in place and expected to come into effect
this month. The weakened Canadian dollar against the US dollar has
partially offset the US dollar copper price decline, and this too
is benefitting our operating margin as roughly 80% of Gibraltar's costs are Canadian dollar
denominated," added Mr. Hallbauer.
"Beyond the input costs which naturally fall when oil and copper
drop, we have studied a number of mine plan options and chosen one
which will allow the mine to operate with reduced site operating
costs and maintain budgeted copper production for the year. We
believe this will provide Taseko with sufficient operating margin
going forward," continued Mr. Hallbauer.
Stuart McDonald, President of
Taseko, added, "From a liquidity perspective, we started the year
with a healthy cash balance. We have eliminated capital spending
and are deferring major equipment rebuilds. All non-essential
project spending has been cut. At Florence we continue to operate
the test facility but have reduced overall site spending. At this
time, we feel we are positioned with adequate financial flexibility
while we manage through this unprecedented crisis."
Note: Gibraltar is a Joint
Venture owned by Taseko (75%) and Cariboo Copper Corp. (25%). All
production and sales figures in this release are reported on a 100%
basis, unless otherwise noted.
Russell Hallbauer
Chief Executive Officer and Director
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