Canadian base metals miner Taseko Mines, which is heading for a London listing before year-end, has reaffirmed its production guidance for 2019, following an on-target third-quarter performance of 33-million pounds of copper from the Gibraltar mine, in British Columbia.

Grades, mill throughput and recoveries were in line with management expectations, Taseko said on Wednesday, adding that it would achieve its guidance of 130-million pounds of copper.

"The Gibraltar mine continues to be a cornerstone asset for our company.  We're pursuing and evaluating a number of improvements, with a focus on opportunities to increase mill throughput and recoveries, as well as mining-related enhancements. Mining and milling technology is constantly evolving which provides opportunities for a steady-state mine, like Gibraltar, to improve,” commented CEO Russell Hallbauer in a news release.

Taseko has also filed a new technical report for the Gibraltar mine, which calculated a measured and indicated resources of 1.11-billion tonnes at 0.25% copper and 0.007% molybdenum, as well as an inferred resource of 58-million tonnes at 0.21% copper and 0.004% molybdenum.

The updated report indicated that the mine had sufficient reserves to support an approximate 19-year production plan out to 2038, with production averaging 130-million pounds a year.

Meanwhile, Hallbauer reported that work on the Florence copper project, in the US, continued, with the focus on a production test facility (PTF). This phase would demonstrate to regulators that hydraulic control of underground leach solutions could be maintained and would provide data to validate the company’s leach model.

Successful operation of the in-situ leaching process will allow permits to be amended for the full-scale commercial operation, which is expected to produce up to 85-million pounds a year of copper cathode for 19 years.

Taseko said it expected to receive the operating permits required for the commercial scale wellfield in the summer of 2020. The PTF would be operated until the end of 2020.

As a requirement of the LSE listing process, the company engaged Roscoe Postle Associates (RPA) for an independent competent persons report for the Gibraltar mine and the Florence project.

The RPA report confirms a project with a production capacity of 85-million pounds of copper over a 20-year mine life, with an after-tax net present value (at 8%) of $670-million and an internal rate of return of 40%. 

“RPA's findings represent a strong independent third party endorsement for the project and the previous technical work we have completed," commented Taseko president Stuart McDonald.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Taseko reported revenue of C$82.44-million in the September quarter, up from C$74.30-million.

The miner reported a net loss of C$24.51-million for the quarter, compared with profit of $7.10-million tonnes in the June quarter. Its adjusted loss was C$20.56-million, from a profit of C$1.46-million.