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Taseko Mines

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Taseko Mines Limited
Company typePublic
TSXTKO
AMEXTGB
IndustryCopper and Gold, Niobium
Founded1999
HeadquartersVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Key people
Mr. Stuart McDonald, Teseko's President & CEO
ProductsCopper, Gold,Niobium, and molybdenum
Revenue$218.07 million[1] USD (2007)
Increase $56.98 million[1] USD (2007)
Increase $56.98 million[1] USD (2007)
Number of employees
514 (2010)
Websitewww.tasekomines.com

Taseko Mines Limited is a mid-tier copper producer located in British Columbia, Canada. It operates Gibraltar Mine, the second largest open-pit copper mine in Canada, and is in the planning stages for several other mines including the Prosperity Mine, Harmony, and Aley. All production is sold at non-hedged market based prices. The market capitalization currently is roughly 740 million dollars.

Company history

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  • 1991 - Prosperity project acquired
  • July 1999 - Gibraltar acquired from Boliden
  • 2002 - Harmony acquired
  • 2004 - Gibraltar reopened due to high copper prices
  • 2007 - Aley acquired

Proposed Projects

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Prosperity Mine

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The property includes 85 square km in south central British Columbia. A large copper and gold mineralization has been defined on the property containing around 5.3 billion lb copper and 13.3 million oz of gold. The feasibility for the mine was completed on September 25, 2007 and the environmental review process began in July 2008.

Operations: Large open-pit copper and gold mine with projected production of 108 million lb per year and 247,000 oz of gold per year for 20 years.

Reserves

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Cost: ~800 million[clarification needed]

In 2009, proven reserves for the mine were 481 million tonnes 0.46 gram per tonne of gold and 0.26 per cent copper. Probable reserves were estimated at 350 million tonnes grading 0.35 gram per tonne of gold and 0.18 per cent of copper (based on a $5.50 net smelter return cut-off).[2]

Timeline

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  • 1991 - acquired by Taseko Mines
  • Sep 25, 2007 - feasibility study completed for 70,000 tonnes per day with 20 year mine life
  • July 2008 - Environmental assessment begins
  • November 2010 - initial open-pit proposal rejected by Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency review board. Environment Minister Jim Prentice and the minority Tory government support the rejection.[3]
  • November 2011 - Taseko President Russell Hallbauer sends a letter to Environment Minister Peter Kent suggesting that the proposal was rejected for "spiritual" rather than environmental reasons.[4]
  • 2014 - Second rejection of mine by Harper government for environmental reasons
  • January 2017 - Attempted revival of dead project that has no support from local First Nation

Harmony Mine

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The Harmony property is located on Graham Island, the largest island of the Haida Gwaii archipelago, within the Queen Charlotte Islands, off the coast of British Columbia. The property contains a low-grade gold mineralization that can only be mined profitably at historically high gold prices. Teseko has yet to explore this property and values the property at $1 on its balance sheet as of September 2004.[5]

Status: Exploration asset

Reserves:

  • latest engineering study indicated 64 million tonnes at 1.52 grams per tonne. In place resources are ~3 million oz of gold.

Cost: No projects pending

projects pending: N/A

Timeline

  • 1970's - property discovered
  • October 2001 - property acquired for 2.23 million dollars and preferred stock
  • September 30, 2004 - property value written down to nominal value of $1

Location: Aley

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The Aley asset contains Niobium, a rare metal used in the production of special steel alloys that are corrosion resistant. Currently only 2 mines in the world produce the rare metal.[6] The spot price of this metal has risen significantly in the last 5 years, from has low as $6.70 per lb in 2004 to ~$24.00 currently [1]. The property is located near the shore of the lake, about 30 kilometers from the Camp. The price of

Status: Exploration asset

Reserves: A feasibility study has not been completed thus-far. The resource estimates are 330-500 million lb with recoveries of which 65% may be recovered

Cost: N/A feasibility study not completed

Timeline

  • 1980's – Discovered by Cominco
  • June 2007 - Teseko acquires property for 1.5 million cash + ~894,730 common shares
  • 2008 - Exploration of property begins

Financial information

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  • Shares listed on the NYSE under the "TGB" symbol
  • Taseko owns 7.318 million shares of Continental Mining, a Chinese mining company[7]
Assets
March 31, 2008 September 30, 2007 June 2007 September 2006
Current Assets
Cash and equivalents 66,416 37,636 44,306 89,408
Restricted Cash - 4,400 4,400 -
Marketable Securities and investments 14,850 18,542 - -
Accounts Receivable 12,209 12,021 16,203 9,342
Income Taxes Receivable 6,344 - - -
Advances to Related party - 807 - -
Inventory 22,724 18,058 12,744 24,218
Prepaid expenses 839 1,069 2,641 1,221
Current portion of promissory note 723 2,086 1,238 2,157
124,105 94,619 97,907 149,447
Restricted Cash - 4,400 4,400 -
Reclamation Deposits 35,468 33,396 32,653 32,004
Promissory Note 73,058 72,350 72,128 71,009
Property, plant and equipment 221,821 176,898 136,843 43,445
458,852 337,263 339,531 297,461
Liabilities
March 31, 2008 September 30, 2007 June 2007 September 2006
Current Liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 27,032 30,435 20,646 21,961
Advances from related party 118 - - -
Current portion of deferred revenue 175 175 1,095 1,225
Current portion of royalty obligation 723 2,086 1,238 2,157
Income taxes payable - 6,573 13,166 3,985
Current portion of future income taxes - 807 - -
29,976 44,589 35,225 47,862
Income taxes 25,478 24,645 22,523 21,058
Royalty obligation 62,590 63,330 63,825 64,632
Deferred revenue 963 1,050 1,094 1,225
Convertible debt 43,383 41,008 42,173 42,775
Site closure and reclamation cost 14,334 17,441 19,864 18,975
Future income taxes 35,671 21,540 5,591 -
212,395 213,603 190,295 196,527

References

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  1. ^ a b c ОАО "ЛУКОЙЛ". Консолидированная финансовая отчетность за 2006 и 2005 гг., подготовленная в соответствии с ОПБУ США Archived 2009-01-31 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Stockwatch news release November 2, 2009, cited in BC MINFILE Record summary No 092O 041 PROSPERITY, FISH LAKE, BB, VICCAL, ALBERT, RENNER, NEW PROSPERITY
  3. ^ Prentice kills Taseko's Prosperity mine - Sun Media, November 2, 2010
  4. ^ B.C. mining company wants aboriginal 'spirituality' ignored in project review - The Vancouver Sun, April 30, 2012
  5. ^ Teseko Mines Limited Annual report p45
  6. ^ Niobium
  7. ^ "Continental Minerals Corporation - Home Page - Fri May 9, 2008". www.hdgold.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2022.

Sources

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Prosperity Cost

100 million equipment purchase

Phase III expansion

2007 Annual Report detailing all properties owned

Market Capitalization

CFO resignation

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