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SOURCE Taseko Mines Limited
This release should be read with the Company's Financial Statements and
Management Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A"), available at www.tasekomines.com and filed on www.sedar.com. Except where otherwise noted, all currency amounts are stated in
Canadian dollars. Taseko's 75% owned Gibraltar Mine is located north of
the City of Williams Lake in south-central British Columbia. Production
volumes stated in this release are on a 100% basis unless otherwise
indicated.
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VANCOUVER, Feb. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX: TKO; NYSE
MKT: TGB) ("Taseko" or the "Company") reports the results for the year
ended December 31, 2012.
Highlights
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Gross profit for the year was $51.7 million.
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Revenues for 2012 were $253.6 million from the sale of 66.0 million
pounds of copper and 1.0 million pounds of molybdenum (Taseko's 75%
share).
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Total production at Gibraltar (100%) for 2012 was 89.7 million pounds of
copper and 1.3 million pounds of molybdenum.
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Gibraltar Development Plan 3 (GDP3) is now in the commissioning phase of
start-up. During the fourth quarter, the electrical power distribution
and reclaim water systems were successfully tied in and became
operational and water testing of the new tailings system was completed.
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Spending on the New Prosperity and Aley development projects in 2012
totalled $17.6 million.
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On December 27, 2012 the Gibraltar Mine signed a long-term labour
agreement with its unionized employees. The new agreement will be in
place until May 31, 2016.
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Realized copper prices for 2012 were US$3.61 per pound, in line with the
average London Metal Exchange price for 2012.
For the 12 months ended December 31, 2012, Taseko had gross profit of
$51.7 million, a net loss of $15.7 million and adjusted net earnings of
$1.9 million. This compares to gross profit of $86.3 million, net
earnings of $27.0 million and adjusted net earnings of $17.8 million
for the 12 months ended December 31, 2011.
Russell Hallbauer, President and CEO of Taseko, commented, "2012 was a
year of major transformation for Taseko. While mining companies around
the world announced asset write-downs, capital expenditure overruns and
operating cost inflation, we advanced our business plan of investing in
our mining operations and development assets within defined economic
constraints.
While our earnings were affected by our investments on Aley and New
Prosperity, we now find ourselves in a position to move these projects
forward in 2013. In combination with the completion of our new GDP3
concentrator and continued strength in copper prices, as a result of
the ongoing copper market deficit, we expect to generate significant
free cash flow over the near term as we position Taseko for future
growth."
Mr. Hallbauer continued, "GDP3 is the consummation of six years of
modernization and production increases which was only temporarily
interrupted by the global financial crisis. Gibraltar is now positioned
to be a significant cash flow generator thereby supporting the next
phase of our growth strategy.
Gibraltar, when it achieves its full operating potential, will be one of
the largest open pit copper mines in North America and notably, one of
the largest reserve bases.
During the fourth quarter, tie-ins associated with the GDP3 concentrator
were completed and we are systematically progressing through
commissioning. Ore has been fed to the concentrator and a short ramp
up to commercial production is expected."
Mr. Hallbauer concluded, "Our New Prosperity project team has nearly
completed the information requests from the Federal Environmental
Review Panel and we anticipate public hearings to begin early in the
second quarter.
We are advancing metallurgical testing on Aley ore samples and have now
produced a niobium concentrate. We expect to finalize the process
flowsheet in the near future which will allow us to complete the
feasibility study on the project."
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Taseko will host a conference call on Friday, February 22, 2013 at 10:30
a.m. Eastern Time (7:30 a.m. Pacific) to discuss these results. The
conference call may be accessed by dialing (877) 303-9079, or (970)
315-0461 internationally. Accompanying presentation slides will be
available to download at tasekomines.com. Alternatively, a live and
archived webcast will also be available at tasekomines.com. The conference call will be archived for later playback until February
28, 2013 and can be accessed by dialing (855) 859-2056 in Canada and
the United States, or (404) 537-3406 internationally and using the
passcode 86515171.
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Russell Hallbauer
President and CEO
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved of the information
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 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;
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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;
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uncertainties related to feasibility studies that provide estimates of
expected or anticipated costs, expenditures and economic returns from a
mining project;
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uncertainties related to our ability to complete the mill upgrade on
time estimated and at the scheduled cost;
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uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary licenses
permits for development projects and project delays due to third party
opposition;
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uncertainties related to unexpected judicial or regulatory proceedings;
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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;
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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;
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the risk of inadequate insurance or inability to obtain insurance to
cover mining risks;
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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;
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environmental issues and liabilities associated with mining including
processing and stock piling ore; and
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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.
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