Copper and molybdenum miner Taseko has posted a net loss of C$11.01-million in the second quarter ended June 30, compared with a loss of C$4.67-million a year earlier, which the miner mainly attributed to higher depletion and amortisation expenses.

Revenue fell from C$94.27-million in the second quarter of 2018, to C$86.52-million in the quarter under review, in line with copper prices that were about 11% lower on changes in Chinese economic demand and global trade policies.

The Gibraltar mine, in British Columbia, produced 34.7-million pounds of copper in the second quarter, an increase of 39% from the previous quarter, as copper head grades increased and the operation benefitted from higher mill throughput. On a year-on-year basis, output rose 4%.

Site operating costs, net of byproduct credits, were $1.71/lb, which is 10% lower than the previous quarter as a results of the higher copper output.

Molybdenum production was 653 000 lb and prices remained steady at $12.18/lb.

President Stuart McDonald said on Wednesday that Taseko remained on track to meet its original 2019 copper production guidance of 130-million pounds this year.

“Quarterly fluctuations have always been a characteristic of Gibraltar, but on an annual basis, the variability is low,” he noted.

The Gibraltar mine is Taseko’s only producing asset, but the miner is also advancing the Florence copper project, in Arizona, US, where it in April plated its first batch of 99.9% copper cathode.

CEO Russell Hallbauer reported that copper grades in the leach solution reached commercial levels in June, which was well in advance of when it was expected to occur.

“We also filed the aquifer protection permit amendment application in June with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and just this week, the underground injection control permit amendment with the US Environmental Protection authority,”

Talks with potential lenders and joint venture partners were ongoing, Hallbauer noted. The Florecen project has an estimated capital cost of about C$204-million.