VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 10, 2021 /CNW/ - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX:
TKO) (NYSE American: TGB) (LSE: TKO) ("Taseko" or the "Company") is
pleased to announce that it has completed its offering of
US$400 million aggregate principal
amount of 7.0% Senior Secured Notes due 2026 ("Notes"). A
portion of the proceeds will be used to redeem the outstanding
US$250 million 8.75% Senior Secured
Notes due 2022 ("Existing Notes"). The remaining proceeds,
net of transaction costs and accrued interest, of US$131 million are available for capital
expenditures, working capital and general corporate purposes.
Stuart McDonald, President of
Taseko, commented, "This bond refinancing and upsize has
significantly strengthened Taseko's financial position and lowered
our cost of capital. We now have a cash balance of
approximately US$200 million and no
significant debt maturities until 2026. With the majority of
the required funding for our Florence
Copper project now in hand, we are moving forward with final
design engineering of the commercial production facility as well as
procurement of certain critical components."
"Capital requirements for the commercial production facility are
estimated at US$230 million," added
Mr. McDonald. "We continue to advance discussions with potential
joint venture partners, but with our strong cash balance and
improved Gibraltar cash flows from
copper prices that are currently over US$3.70 per pound, we have numerous options
available to obtain the remaining funding."
Russell Hallbauer, CEO of Taseko
concluded, "A commitment to capital discipline is a guiding
principle for this organization. We have demonstrated this in the
past by completing over $800 million
of capital programs at Gibraltar,
on time and on budget. Florence is no different. We are
designing and engineering the commercial facility to achieve the
most accretive results for shareholders. Florence is one of
the least capital intensive copper production facilities in the
world and when fully ramped up will produce 40,000 tonnes of high
quality cathode copper annually for the US domestic market.
It is a green project, with carbon emissions and water and energy
consumption all dramatically lower than a conventional mine, and
with C1 operating costs of US$0.90
per pound of copper, it will also be in the lowest quartile of the
global cost curve."
Russell Hallbauer
Chief Executive Officer and Director
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved of the
information contained in this news release.
The Notes have not and will not be registered under the U.S.
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or the
securities laws of any other jurisdiction. The Notes have not and
will not be qualified by a prospectus in Canada. Unless registered or qualified by a
prospectus, the Notes may be offered and sold, only in transactions
that are exempt from registration requirements and from prospectus
qualification under Canadian securities laws. In the United States, the Notes were offered and
sold, only to persons reasonably believed to be "qualified
institutional buyers" (as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities
Act) and outside the United
States, to non-U.S. persons in compliance with Regulation S
under the Securities Act.
This press release is neither an offer to sell nor the
solicitation of an offer to buy the Notes, the Existing Notes or
any other securities and shall not constitute an offer to sell or
solicitation of an offer to buy, or a sale of, the Notes, the
Existing Notes or any other securities in any jurisdiction in which
such offer, solicitation or sale is unlawful. This press release
does not constitute a notice of redemption with respect to the
Existing Notes.
CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This document contains forward-looking statements and
forward-looking information (collectively referred to as
"forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable
Canadian securities legislation and the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the
Securities Act and 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended, which may not be based on historical fact, including
without limitation statements regarding Taseko's expectations in
respect of future financial position, business strategy, future
production, reserve potential, exploration drilling, exploitation
activities, events or developments that Taseko expects to take
place in the future, projected costs and plans and objectives.
Often, but not always, 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, including the "Risk Factors"
included in our Annual Information Form.
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/taseko-mines-completes-notes-offering-and-moves-forward-with-florence-copper-commercial-production-facility-301226168.html
SOURCE Taseko Mines Limited