January 9, 2012
Vancouver, BC - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX: TKO; NYSE Amex: TGB) announces fourth quarter production of 22.3 million pounds of copper and 388,000 pounds of molybdenum for its 75% owned Gibraltar Mine. Total production for the 12 months ended December 31, 2011 was 82.9 million pounds of copper and 1.3 million pounds of molybdenum.
Taseko’s 75% share of copper sales was 15.4 million pounds for the fourth quarter and 60.5 million pounds for the year, on a payable basis. The Company’s share of molybdenum sales for the fourth quarter was 269,000 pounds and 974,000 pounds for the year.
The quarterly production summary is as follows:
| Q1 2011 | Q2 2011 | Q3 2011 | Q4 2011 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mill Throughput (millions, tons) | 3.2 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.3 |
Copper Production (millions, lbs) | 19.3 | 20.0 | 21.3 | 22.3 |
Molybdenum Production (thousand, lbs) | 317 | 303 | 324 | 388 |
Russell Hallbauer, President and CEO of Taseko, commented, “Our key 2011 operational objectives at Gibraltar were to commission the SAG mill direct feed system and progressively increase the concentrator’s daily throughput to its design capacity. I am pleased with the accomplishments of the Gibraltar team with the commissioning of the SAG direct feed in the first half of 2011 and the steady progress we have made on the mill production levels.”
Mr. Hallbauer continued, “I look forward to 2012 as a year where Taseko will continue to unlock the value of its key assets; Gibraltar will be central to this theme.”
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: Investor Relations - 778-373-4533, 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.