Taseko Reports Year End Results & Plans for Fiscal 2006.VANCOUVER, British Columbia British Columbia, province (2001 pop. 3,907,738), 366,255 sq mi (948,600 sq km), including 6,976 sq mi (18,068 sq km) of water surface, W Canada. Geography -- Taseko Mines Limited (TSX TSX Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE before April, 2002) TSX Transfer from Stack Pointer to Index TSX True Space Extension VENTURE:TKO)(AMEX AMEX See: American Stock Exchange :TGB TGB Tangentbord (Swedish: keyboard) TGB Très Grande Bibliothèque TGB Tiagabine TGB Telecommunications Grounding Busbar TGB Terrain Vehicle (Swedish military) TGB Taiwan Golden Bee Co Ltd ) announces its financial results for the Company's fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, including production and sales for the Gibraltar Mine located near Williams Lake Williams Lake is the name of several places: Canada
Overview & Highlights Taseko had after tax earnings of $24.4 million, or $0.23 per share ($0.21 per share fully diluted di·lute tr.v. di·lut·ed, di·lut·ing, di·lutes 1. To make thinner or less concentrated by adding a liquid such as water. 2. To lessen the force, strength, purity, or brilliance of, especially by admixture. ) in the year ended September 30, 2005. - The Gibraltar mine recorded revenues of $71.9 million from sales of copper concentrate, and $15.7 million was realized from sales of molybdenum molybdenum (məlĭb`dənəm) [Gr.,=leadlike], metallic chemical element; symbol Mo; at. no. 42; at. wt. 95.94; m.p. about 2,617°C;; b.p. about 4,612°C;; sp. gr. 10.22 at 20°C;; valence +2, +3, +4, +5, or +6. . Revenue was recorded for nine months of commercial production ending September 30, 2005. - The average price for sales of copper realized over the year was US$1.48 per pound and for molybdenum was US$31 per pound. - Copper concentrate production for the year was 96,208 wet metric tonnes ("WMT (Windows Media Technologies) See Windows Media. "), or 54.8 million pounds of copper (93% of the forecast as revised at the end of the second quarter). - Copper concentrate sales for the year were 77,695 WMT, or 44.3 million pounds of copper. - An inventory of 18,258 WMT of copper concentrate, or 10.4 million pounds of copper, remained at year end, of which 14,500 WMT of inventory, or 8.3 million pounds of copper, was in a storage facility at the dock as there were no ships available at that time to transport it to smelters in Asia. - Molybdenum in concentrate production during the year was 427,000 pounds (80% of the forecast as revised at the end of the second quarter). - Molybdenum in concentrate sales over the year were 418,016 gross pounds. - Molybdenum in concentrate inventory at year end was 9,000 pounds. Results of 2005 Operations & Plans for 2006 Gibraltar Mine The Gibraltar mine is operated under an agreement between Taseko's wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. , Gibraltar Mines Ltd., and Ledcor CMI (Computer-Managed Instruction) Using computers to organize and manage an instructional program for students. It helps create test materials, tracks the results and monitors student progress. Ltd. The Gibraltar mine reopened in October 2004 as a copper producer with a 12-year mine plan. The first fiscal quarter was largely a restart To resume computer operation after a planned or unplanned termination. See boot, warm boot and checkpoint/restart. period and commercial copper concentrate production commenced on January 1, 2005. After the completion of an upgrade to the molybdenum circuit near the end of the second fiscal quarter, the mine commenced molybdenum concentrate production. All mining in fiscal 2005 took place in the Pollyanna stage 4 pit: 12.4 million tons of ore grading 0.314% copper was mined with 0.9 million tons in live inventory at year end and 11.5 million tons processed; an additional 2.2 million tons of low grade sulphide sulphide: see sulfide. material and 2.0 million tons of oxide oxide, chemical compound containing oxygen and one other chemical element. Oxides are widely and abundantly distributed in nature. Water is the oxide of hydrogen. Silicon dioxide is the major component of sand and quartz. ore were stockpiled for later treatment. The mined tons and grade reconciles with the estimated reserve. A reserve update was completed in December 2005, increasing the proven and probable reserves for Gibraltar as of October 1, 2005 by 30%, from 145 million tons to 194 million tons. Further definition drilling and economic analyses will be undertaken in 2006 to upgrade additional resources to reserves. In parallel, studies are underway to consider the opportunity to expand mill production by 25%. 2005 Performance As a result of the delay in commissioning the molybdenum circuit and lower than planned mill throughput, the Company updated its production forecast for the year at the end of the second quarter (March 31, 2005). The following table is a summary of the operating statistics for the year compared to this revised forecast.
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Gibraltar Fiscal Year 2005 Production
October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2005
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Actual Revised Variance Comments
Forecast
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Ore + waste
mined (tons) 39,992,000 41,658,000 -4% Mining rate
adversely impacted
by unscheduled
maintenance on
the shovel fleet,
as well as truck
availability.
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Ore milled
(tons) 11,484,000 11,913,000 -4% Lower mill
throughput due to
poor crusher
availability and
grinding circuit
productivity.
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Stripping
ratio 2.31 2.35 -2%
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Copper
grade (%) 0.314 0.306 +3%
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Molybdenum
grade (% MoS2) 0.017 0.016 +6%
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Copper
recovery (%) 76.2 80.4 -5% Lower copper
recovery due to
ore variability
and higher amounts
of secondary
mineralization
than expected.
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Molybdenum
recovery (%) 23.1 35.2 -35% Molybdenum
recovery was low
as the new circuit
was established.
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Copper
production (lb) 54,785,347 58,600,000 -7% Below forecast
throughput and
recovery.
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Molybdenum
production (lb) 427,059 541,000 -20% Below forecast
throughput and
recovery.
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Gibraltar Commercial Production
January 1, 2005 to September 30, 2005
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Copper production (lb) 42,675,438
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Copper sales (lb) 39,584,722
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Molybdenum production (lb) 427,059
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Molybdenum sales (gross lb) 418,016
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Copper production costs, net of molybdenum,
per lb of copper US$0.87
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Treatment and transportation cost per lb of copper US$0.28
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Total cash cost per lb of copper US$1.15
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There was no time loss accidents during the year ended September 30, 2005. At the end of the fiscal year, the Gibraltar operation employed 248 people. Mineral Reserves A detailed review of the geological model, confirmation of pit wall locations established in previous mine optimization optimization Field of applied mathematics whose principles and methods are used to solve quantitative problems in disciplines including physics, biology, engineering, and economics. studies, and an analysis of current price and mining cost projections allowed for expansion of the previously defined pits, specifically, at the PGE PGE Pacific Gas and Electric Company PGE Portland General Electric PGE Prostaglandin E PGE Platinum Group Elements PGE Pacific Great Eastern (Railroad) PGE Phenyl Glycidyl Ether PGE Perfect Girl Evolution Connector and Granite granite, coarse-grained igneous rock of even texture and light color, composed chiefly of quartz and feldspars. It usually contains small quantities of mica or hornblende, and minor accessory minerals may be present. Lake deposits. As a result, the overall proven and probable reserves increased by 30%, from 149 million tons remaining after production to September 30, 2005, to 194 million tons (Taseko News Release dated December 12, 2005). The additional mine production and scheduling plans, although developed, have not yet been formalized for·mal·ize tr.v. for·mal·ized, for·mal·iz·ing, for·mal·iz·es 1. To give a definite form or shape to. 2. a. To make formal. b. and approved by the board of directors. Further definition drilling and economic analysis will be undertaken in 2006 with the objective of upgrading additional resources into the reserve category. The drilling program will be focused on defining this resource between the existing pits and tying together the extensive mineralization Mineralization The process by which the body uses minerals to build bone structure. Mentioned in: Rickets mineralization, n the bioprecipitation of an inorganic substance. zones. In anticipation of a further increase in the mineral reserves, an engineering study has been initiated to evaluate the economics of expanding the mill production rate by 25%. This would include an assessment of the capital investment required to increase grinding grinding, process by which surface material is removed from an object, usually metal, by the abrasive action of a rotating wheel or a moving belt that contains abrasive grains. and flotation flotation or froth flotation Most widely used process for extracting many minerals from their ores. The method separates and concentrates ores by altering their surfaces so that they are either repelled or attracted by water. capacities and the fleet of mining equipment. Refinery Update Feasibility level studies were completed in 2002 to assess the viability of constructing a copper refinery at Gibraltar, based on a hydrometallurgical hy·dro·met·al·lur·gy n. The treatment of metal or the separation of metal from ores and ore concentrates by liquid processes, such as leaching, extraction, and precipitation. process developed by Cominco Engineering Services Ltd. A refinery located at Gibraltar would produce cathode copper from copper concentrate at the site rather than sending these concentrates to an overseas smelter for treatment, which would result in an estimated operating cost saving to Gibraltar of US$0.20/lb of copper produced. With mining operations now underway at Gibraltar, mine technical personnel have been re-assessing the refinery project. An updated refinery feasibility study The analysis of a problem to determine if it can be solved effectively. The operational (will it work?), economical (costs and benefits) and technical (can it be built?) aspects are part of the study. Results of the study determine whether the solution should be implemented. is expected to be completed in the near term, but the immediate focus is to increase the reserves and evaluate expanding the mill as these will affect the refinery project's economics. The British Columbia Environmental Assessment ("BCEA BCEA Basic Conditions of Employment Act (South Africa) BCEA British Columbia Electrical Association (Burnaby, BC, Canada) BCEA Barcelona Center for Education Abroad (Barcelona, Spain) ") Office has advised Taseko that the proposed refinery would not be reviewable under the BCEA Act because the refining refining, any of various processes for separating impurities from crude or semifinished materials. It includes the finer processes of metallurgy, the fractional distillation of petroleum into its commercial products, and the purifying of cane, beet, and maple sugar process would be integrated with ore milling operations of the fully permitted Gibraltar mine. Production Forecast for Fiscal 2006 The forecasted copper and molybdenum production for 2006 are 60.1 million pounds and 874,000 pounds, respectively. The forecast by quarter is as follows:
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Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total 2006
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Copper (millions lb) 13.4 15.2 15.7 15.8 60.1
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Molybdenum (thousands lb) 200 220 227 227 874
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Copper production costs,
net of molybdenum
credits(i), per lb of
copper US$1.03 US$0.81 US$0.81 US$0.80 US$0.83
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OPC transport & treatment
per lb of copper US$0.30 US$0.34 US$0.34 US$0.34 US$0.34
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Total cash costs of
production per lb of
copper US$1.33 US$1.15 US$1.15 US$1.14 US$1.17
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(i)Excludes mining equipment lease costs but includes contractor
overhead costs
Off Property Costs ("OPC") are concentrate transportation, smelting
and refining costs
The forecast production cost for 2006 is based on a molybdenum sales price of US$20 per pound (molybdenum credit); an increase in copper treatment costs of US$0.06 per pound as per the treatment contract schedule; re-scheduling of pit production including additional costs for stripping; and higher estimated input costs. Prosperity Project In November 2005, work was re-initiated on the Prosperity Copper-Gold Project. Taseko holds a 100% interest in the Prosperity property, which encompasses 196 mineral claims covering approximately 85 square kilometres Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units. 1 km² is equal to:
Porphyry (pôr`fĭrē), c.232–c.304, Greek scholar and Neoplatonic philosopher. He studied rhetoric under Cassius Longinus and philosophy under Plotinus. copper-gold deposit amenable AMENABLE. Responsible; subject to answer in a court of justice liable to punishment. to large-scale open pit mining. Taseko carried out extensive exploration, engineering, mine planning, environmental, and socio-economic studies on the Prosperity project prior to 2001, including two years in the British Columbia Environmental Assessment ("BCEA") process. In 2005, Taseko was granted an extension order for the Prosperity Project Application under the BCEA process until April 30, 2007. Taseko technical staff are currently reviewing previous feasibility studies and re-assessing the project economics based on new technologies, concepts, and innovative approaches to mine development. This includes re-examining optimal mining rates and mining equipment size, analyzing the economics of constructing and operating a single line mill rather than multiple smaller lines, and evaluating the potential improvements which could be realized with state-of-the-art metallurgical met·al·lur·gy n. 1. The science that deals with procedures used in extracting metals from their ores, purifying and alloying metals, and creating useful objects from metals. 2. technologies such as large tank flotation circuits and expert computerized computerized adapted for analysis, storage and retrieval on a computer. computerized axial tomography see computed tomography. mill control systems. The Company is also reassessing major infrastructure plans, such as the power-line route, to determine if there are synergies to be achieved with the other communities of interest in the area. Financial Results Taseko had after-tax earnings of $24.4 million, or $0.23 per share ($0.21 per share fully diluted(1) in the year ended September 30, 2005 compared to a loss of $81.4 million, or $1.09 per share, in fiscal 2004. Earnings in 2005 also include pre-tax earnings of $6.8 million and current and future tax recoveries of $4.1 million and $13.4 million, respectively, compared to $23.7 million of tax expense in fiscal 2004. Gibraltar recorded revenues of $71.9 million from sales of copper concentrate, and $15.7 million was realized from sales of molybdenum. Revenue was recorded for nine months of commercial production ending September 30, 2005. Total production costs for the year were $57.8 million. Costs of production include $33.8 million for mining; $23.4 million for milling; $5.7 million for mine administration; $0.3 million in royalties; and $2.4 million for molybdenum treatment expenses. This also includes a reduction of $7.8 million related to a build up of copper concentrate inventory. Total treatment, refining and transportation costs for the year were $13.5 million. Amortization expense was $2.7 million. Additional information is provided in Taseko's Management Discussion and Analysis and Financial Statements for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005. Download To receive a file transmitted over a network. In any communications session, "download" means receive, and "upload" means send. The download/upload often implies a big/little scenario, in which data is being downloaded from the "big" server into the "little" user's computer. these documents from the Company's website www.tasekomines.com or from www.sedar.com. Russell Hallbauer, President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. ". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address estimated resource quantities, grades and contained gold, possible future mining, exploration and development activities, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices for metals, the conclusions of detailed feasibility and technical analyses, lower than expected grades and quantities of resources, mining rates and recovery rates and the lack of availability of necessary capital, which may not be available to the Company on terms acceptable to it or at all. The Company is subject to the specific risks inherent in the mining business as well as general economic and business conditions. For more information on the Company, Investors should review the Company's annual Form 20-F filing with the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. Securities Commission and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com. (1) Diluted earnings (loss) per share is calculated using the treasury stock method. Under the treasury stock method, the weighted average number of common shares outstanding used for the calculation of diluted earnings per share diluted earnings per share An earnings measure calculated by dividing net income less preferred stock dividends for a period by the average number of shares of common stock that would be outstanding if all convertible securities were converted into shares of includes the underlying common shares to the tracking preferred shares Preferred shares Preferred shares give investors a fixed dividend from the company's earnings and entitle them to be paid before common shareholders. See: Preferred stock. and convertible debenture Convertible Debenture Any type of debenture that can be converted into some other security. Notes: For example, a convertible bond can be converted into stock. on an if-converted basis and assumes that the proceeds to be received on the exercise of dilutive share options and warrants are used to repurchase re·pur·chase tr.v. re·pur·chased, re·pur·chas·ing, re·pur·chas·es To buy (something) again. n. The act of buying something that one previously sold or owned. Noun 1. common shares at the average market price during the period. The TSX Venture Exchange TSX Venture Exchange Originally called the Canadian Venture Exchange (CDNX), this was a result of the merger of the Vancouver and Alberta stock exchanges. The goal of TSX Venture Exchange is to provide venture companies with effective access to capital while protecting investors. and the American Stock Exchange American Stock Exchange (AMEX) Stock exchange in the U.S. Originally known as “the Curb,” it began as an outdoor marketplace in New York City c. 1850. It moved indoors to its present location in the Wall Street area in 1921. have not approved or disapproved of the contents of this press release. Taseko Mines Limited (TSX VENTURE:TKO) (AMEX:TGB) |
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