VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 4, 2020 /CNW/ - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX:
TKO) (NYSE American: TGB) (LSE: TKO) ("Taseko" or the
"Company") has been informed by the Arizona Department of
Environmental Quality ("ADEQ") that the draft Aquifer Protection
Permit ("APP") for the Florence Copper commercial production
facility will be issued on Thursday, August
6, 2020. The APP is one of two key permits required to
advance the project to commercial production.
Russell Hallbauer, Chief
Executive Officer and Director of Taseko, commented, "The issuance
of this important permit is a confirmation by the state regulator
that the Florence Copper in-situ mining process is environmentally
safe. We have proven this over the past 18 months while operating
the test facility within all the stringent conditions set out in
the current permit. We fully expect that following the 30-day
public comment period, the ADEQ will be positioned to quickly issue
the final permit."
"From an operational perspective, we have completed a full
evaluation of the data collected from the test wellfield over the
last 18 months of operations. The test facility has successfully
demonstrated our ability to produce high-quality copper cathode,
within the stringent environmental guidelines of our permits, and
has confirmed the project economics."
"Many of the modelled assumptions have been validated and we
have used the data to develop strategies for solution chemistry,
flow rates, reverse flow and the use of well packers for targeting
solution flows. The hydrogeological model has been updated using
the data collected over the past 18 months and is being used to
refine our operating plan for the commercial phase." continued Mr.
Hallbauer.
"With all of the required data in hand, we recently made the
decision to wind down the production phase of the test facility and
commence with rinsing the small section of the orebody where the
wellfield has been operating. Timing of these activities are
expected to mesh well with the overall project timeline and will
provide our operating team with additional site specific
experience," added Mr. Hallbauer.
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" 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 effect of COVID-19 and the response of
local, provincial, federal and international governments to the
threat of COVID-19 on our operations (including our suppliers,
customers, supply chain, employees and contractors) and economic
conditions generally and in particular with respect to the demand
for copper and other metals we produce;
- 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
licenses permits for development projects and project delays due to
third party opposition;
- 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; and
- 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 or
other events or occurrences, including third party interference
that interrupt the production of minerals in our mines.
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.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information
This discussion includes certain statements that may be deemed
"forward-looking statements". All statements in this
discussion, other than statements of historical facts, that address
future production, reserve potential, exploration drilling,
exploitation activities, and events or developments that the
Company expects are forward-looking statements. Although we
believe the expectations expressed in such forward-looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are
not guarantees of future performance and actual results or
developments may differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those in forward-looking
statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration
successes, continued availability of capital and financing and
general economic, market or business conditions. Investors
are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future
performance and actual results or developments may differ
materially from those projected in the forward-looking
statements. All of the forward-looking statements made in
this MD&A are qualified by these cautionary statements.
We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by
applicable law. Further information concerning risks and
uncertainties associated with these forward-looking statements and
our business may be found in our most recent Form 40-F/Annual
Information Form on file with the SEC and Canadian provincial
securities regulatory authorities.
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SOURCE Taseko Mines Limited