April 11, 2012
April 11, 2012, Vancouver, BC - Taseko (TSX: TKO; NYSE Amex: TGB) (the “Company”) announces 2012 first quarter total production of 20.8 million pounds of copper and 438,000 pounds of molybdenum for its 75% owned Gibraltar Mine.
For the first quarter, Taseko’s 75% share of sales was 12.7 million pounds of copper and 354,000 pounds of molybdenum.
In the first quarter, mill throughput was reduced by approximately 500,000 tons, equivalent to roughly 2.7 million pounds of copper production, due to processing ore from a harder than average portion of the Granite Pit, complicated by extended periods of -30° Celsius weather as well as ground water encountered at the lower level benches. Also, a five-day unplanned shutdown to repair a SAG mill motor resulted in a further reduction in mill throughput of 250,000 tons, or nearly 1.4 million pounds of copper production.
Quarterly Comparison
|
Q1 2012 | Q4 2011 |
---|---|---|
Mill Throughput (Millions, tons) | 3.9 | 4.3 |
Copper | |
|
Grade (%) | 0.305 | 0.292 |
Recoveries (%) | 87.0 | 86.5 |
Production (Millions, pounds) | 20.9 | 22.3 |
Molybdenum | |
|
Grade (%) | 0.013 | 0.012 |
Recoveries (%) | 43.1 | 38.8 |
Production (Thousands, pounds) | 438 | 388 |
Russell Hallbauer, President and CEO of Taseko, commented, “We anticipate returning to more normalized concentrator throughput levels this quarter. Molybdenum recovery continues to improve quarter-over-quarter and we expect copper recoveries to stabilize at approximately 89%.”
Note: Gibraltar is a Joint Venture owned by Taseko Mines Limited (75%) and Cariboo Copper Corp. (25%). All production figures are reported on a 100% basis.
For further information on Taseko, please see the Company’s website www.tasekomines.com or contact:
Brian Bergot, Director, Investor Relations - 778-373-4533or toll free 1-877-441-4533
Russell Hallbauer
President and CEO
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved of the information contained in this news release.
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:
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.