VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 22,
2023 /CNW/ - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX: TKO) (NYSE
American: TGB) (LSE: TKO) ("Taseko" or the "Company") is pleased to
announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement
("Agreement") to acquire an additional 12.5% interest in the
Gibraltar Mine from Sojitz Corporation ("Sojitz").
Gibraltar is operated through a
joint venture which is owned 75% by Taseko and 25% by Cariboo
Copper Corporation ("Cariboo"). Under the terms of the
Agreement, Taseko will acquire Sojitz's 50% interest in Cariboo,
and will then hold an effective 87.5% interest in the Gibraltar
Mine.
The acquisition price consists of a minimum amount of
C$60 million payable over a five-year
period and potential contingent payments depending on Gibraltar mine revenues and copper prices over
the next five years. An initial C$10
million will be paid to Sojitz upon closing and the
remaining minimum amount will be paid in C$10 million annual instalments over the next
five years.
Stuart McDonald, President &
CEO of Taseko, stated, "This is a logical and beneficial
transaction for Taseko, providing immediate 17% growth in our
attributable copper production and earnings from mine
operations. Gibraltar is a
high-quality asset with a long mine life in an excellent
jurisdiction. The transaction is immediately accretive to
Taseko and the deferred payment structure allows us to focus our
financial capacity on the construction of the Florence Copper
project which we expect to commence later this year."
Mr. Osamu Matsuura, Executive
Officer & COO of Sojitz Metals, Mineral Resources and Recycling
Division, commented: "Sojitz has benefitted from its partnership
with Taseko for more than a decade, and we continue to view the
Gibraltar mine as a valuable
long-life asset with a proven operating team. This
transaction is consistent with our Division's strategy to
transition towards metal recycling and other midstream processing
businesses."
Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions,
including regulatory approvals, and is expected to occur in a
timely manner.
Transaction Details
Taseko will acquire Sojitz's 50% interest in Cariboo and
become a party to the existing Cariboo shareholders agreement with
Dowa Metals & Mining Co., Ltd (25%) and Furukawa Co. Ltd (25%).
There will be no change to the offtake contracts established in
2010 and Dowa and Furukawa will continue to receive 30% of
Gibraltar's copper concentrate
offtake. There will be no impact to operation of the Gibraltar
Joint Venture.
Under the terms of the Agreement, the initial minimum payment of
C$10 million is due on closing and
the remaining minimum amounts are payable annually in C$10 million instalments over the next five
years, for a total of C$60 million.
There is no interest payable on the minimum
amounts.
The contingent payments are payable annually for five years only
if the average LME copper price exceeds US$3.50 per pound in a year. The payments
will be calculated by multiplying Gibraltar mine copper revenues by a price
factor, which is based on a sliding scale ranging from 0.38% at
US$3.50 per pound copper to a maximum
of 2.13% at US$5.00 per pound copper
or above. Total contingent payments cannot exceed
C$57 million over the five-year
period, limiting the acquisition cost to a maximum of C$117 million.
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.
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/taseko-signs-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-12-5-interest-in-gibraltar-copper-mine-301752731.html
SOURCE Taseko Mines Limited