April 6, 2009
April 6, 2009, Vancouver, BC — Taseko Mines Limited (TSX: TKO; NYSE Amex: TGB) (“Taseko” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide the following update on production results for the first quarter 2009.
Q1 2009 Production Highlights
January | February | March | |
---|---|---|---|
Copper Grade | 0.350% | 0.352% | 0.403% |
Average Tons Per Day Milled (thousands) | 35.5 | 39.3 | 39.31 |
Copper Recovery | 81.6% | 82.2% | 83.3% |
Copper Production (millions lbs) | 6.4 | 6.2 | 7.3 |
Molybdenum (thousands lbs) | 75 | 57 | 55 |
1 Excludes 3.5 days of a scheduled maintenance shutdown |
During the first quarter of 2009, the Gibraltar Mine produced nearly 20 million pounds of copper and 187 thousand pounds of molybdenum, representing a 70% increase to copper production over the same period in 2008. These quarterly production figures are in line with annual production guidance of 80 million pounds of copper and 800 thousand pounds of molybdenum.
Russell Hallbauer, President and CEO of Taseko stated, “Over the past two years we have invested $250 million into the Gibraltar Mine to increase production and reduce operating costs. The results we are now reporting are validating the importance of these initiatives. First quarter production and our low cost structure combined with a strengthened copper price will provide healthy margins and cash flow.”
“In only three months the price of copper, as quoted on the London Metal Exchange, has risen from a low of US$1.26/lb in late December to nearly US$1.90/lb today. At the same time, after major cost reduction initiatives our total cash costs have dropped to approximately US$1.15/lb for the first quarter.”
Mr. Hallbauer continued, “The dramatic rebound in copper prices is encouraging and has allowed us to recommence work on our Phase II expansion; however, given the general uncertainty in the global economy, we will remain extremely cautious as we proceed with our capital spending to ensure we maintain sufficient working capital lines. As market conditions stabilize, we expect to complete the necessary work to increase the Gibraltar concentrator capacity to 55,000 tons per day, or 115 million pounds of annual copper production.”
Contact: Brian Bergot, Investor Relations
Direct: 778-373-4545 | toll free 1-800-667-2114
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.