Commencement Of Wellfield Operations At Florence Copper

VANCOUVER – Taseko Mines Limited reported on progress at the Florence Copper project in Florence, Arizona and third quarter operational results at its Gibraltar Mine.
Final regulatory approvals have been received and the operating team at Florence is now in the process of commencing wellfield operations, which marks the start up of the commercial production facility. In the SX/EW plant area, the general contractor achieved substantial completion and began to de-mobilize construction crews at that time. Taseko’s owners’ team is supervising the remaining contractors as they wrap up the final construction activities and systematically hand over sections of the plant area to the operating team for commissioning. The commissioning phase for the SX/EW plant is scheduled to run in parallel with the start of wellfield operations. First copper cathode is expected to be produced in about three months.
Stuart McDonald, President & CEO, said, “Commencement of wellfield operations is a fantastic milestone for Florence Copper, and a great achievement that our construction team in Arizona has accomplished in less than two years. We have successfully executed on this major capital project and look forward to first copper production and a successful ramp-up of the operation in the months ahead.”
At the Gibraltar Mine, third quarter production was 27.6 million pounds of copper, including 900 thousand pounds of copper cathode, and 560 thousand pounds of molybdenum. This represents an increase of 39% and 211%, respectively, over the previous quarter. A total of 26.3 million pounds of copper was sold in the quarter. Mill throughput was at design capacity of 85,300 tons per day in the quarter and copper recoveries have been improving steadily, averaging 77% for the third quarter, and 83% for the month of September. Copper head grades of 0.22% were behind plan, although still a significant improvement over the previous two quarters.
McDonald added, “At Gibraltar, mining is advancing deeper into the Connector pit, and we continue to see steady improvement in copper grades and ore quality, as most of the secondary mineralization is now behind us. We expect another significant production increase in the fourth quarter, but will not recover the production shortfall from recent months. Annual production for 2025 is now expected to be 100 to 105 million pounds of copper.
With copper prices approaching record levels, and a growing focus on security of critical mineral supply, the timing is ideal to bring on a major new source of refined copper inside the United States. With first copper cathode expected to be produced from Florence in about three months, and increasing production from our Gibraltar Mine, we’re becoming a more diversified copper miner in top tier mining jurisdictions.”