REG - Taseko Mines Limited - Construction Update for Florence Copper

Taseko MinesAnnouncement

21/10/2024 15:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20241021:nRSU9988Ia&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 9988I  Taseko Mines Limited  21 October 2024

Taseko Mines Provides Construction Update for Florence Copper

October 21, 2024, Vancouver, BC - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX: TKO; NYSE MKT:
TGB; LSE: TKO) ("Taseko" or the "Company") is pleased to provide a progress
update for construction activities at its Florence Copper project.

To-date, approximately 300,000 project hours have been worked and there have
been no reportable injuries or environmental incidents.  There are currently
280 construction personnel at site.  All activities are advancing on schedule
and as of September 30, 2024, the project is approaching 40% complete.  First
copper production is still anticipated in the fourth quarter 2025.

Since construction commenced earlier this year, the bulk of activities have
been focused on earthworks, concrete, and wellfield drilling. Installation of
structural steel, tanks, and process equipment is now underway.

Summary of key activities and status as of September 30, 2024:

 ·    Earthworks and site preparation for the plant area and commercial
 wellfield - ~75% complete

 ·    Concrete foundations for SX/EW plant and associated infrastructure -
 ~50% complete

 ·    Pre-assembly and installation of structural steel for the solvent
 extraction plant commenced in August

 ·    Installation of process equipment commenced in September

 ·    Powerline installation - ~65% complete

 ·    Wellfield drilling - a total of 34 production wells completed to
 date, out of a total of 90 to be drilled during the construction phase

 ·    Point of compliance well drilling - 9 wells completed to date, out of
 a total of 18

 ·    Construction of process and surface water runoff ponds

 ·    Hiring permanent operating staff - 75 of 170 total positions and all
 but one key management position has been filled

 

Stuart McDonald, President & CEO of Taseko, commented, "We are pleased
with progress through the first nine months of construction.  With
approximately 75% of total construction costs now committed, we expect total
costs to be within 10-15% of the original US$232 million* estimate.  The
project remains on track for first copper production in late 2025, which will
be a transformative event for our Company."

"In addition, we have applied to the U.S. Department of Energy's Qualifying
Advanced Energy Project Credit (48C) Program.  Florence Copper, which is set
to become North America's lowest GHG-intensity primary copper producer,
qualifies as a critical materials project.  After submitting a concept paper
in June, we received encouragement to proceed with the full application.  We
have now filed the application seeking a tax credit of up to US $110 million,
and we expect to hear whether Florence qualifies for the credit, or not, in
January 2025" concluded Mr. McDonald.

The Company recently hosted a Florence Copper site tour and the associated
presentation can be found on our website at
https://tasekomines.com/investors/documents-and-reports/corporate-presentations/
(https://tasekomines.com/investors/documents-and-reports/corporate-presentations/)
. Additionally, updated construction photos can be found on our website at
 https://tasekomines.com/properties/florence-copper/#construction-updates
(https://tasekomines.com/properties/florence-copper/#construction-updates) .

*Based on the Florence Copper 43-101 Technical Report dated March 15, 2023,
with costing basis Q3 2022.

For further information on Taseko, see the Company's website at
www.tasekomines.com or contact:

Investor enquiries Brian Bergot, Vice President, Investor Relations -
778-373-4554

 

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;

·      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;

·      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 87.5% 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.sedarplus.ca, including the "Risk Factors" included in our Annual
Information Form.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  UPDEADEFASALFFA