VANCOUVER, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX: TKO; NYSE Amex: TGB) ('Taseko' or the 'Company') reports the results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2009. This release should be read with the Company's Financial Statements and Management Discussion Analysis, available at www.tasekomines.com and filed on www.sedar.com. Currency is Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.
For the quarter ended June 30, 2009, the Company reports an operating profit of $16.7 million and net earnings of $11.4 million or $0.07 per share ($0.06 per share fully diluted). This compares to an operating profit of $6.6 million and net earnings of $3.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2009. Revenue for the quarter was $52.6 million from the sale of 21.0 million pounds of copper and 216,000 pounds of molybdenum at an average realized price of US$2.10 per pound for copper and US$10.56 per pound for molybdenum.
Russell Hallbauer, President and CEO of Taseko commented, 'Since the beginning of the year our operating margins have increased on a month over month basis, as a result of cost containment initiatives and the strengthening copper price.
With our balance sheet in very good shape, and growing cash flows, we are aggressively working to complete the few remaining capital expenditures required to boost our concentrator throughput capacity to 55,000 tons per day.
Our newly installed Vertimill, along with additional flotation capacity, will give immediate copper recovery improvements. We expect to increase the ore crushing capacity by mid-2010, with the commissioning of our new in-pit crusher and overland conveyor system. The combination of the additional flotation capacity and increased crushing and grinding capabilities will increase our metal production capacity at Gibraltar to an estimated 115 million pounds per year by the middle of 2010.
As well, Gibraltar's management team recently completed a Business Improvement Initiative. This initiative has identified $20 million worth of annual cost saving improvements that we are presently engaged in addressing.
In conjunction with increased concentrator throughput, improved metal recoveries, a reduction of mining costs as we maximize the productive capacity of our new mining fleet and our focus on the Business Improvement Initiative, Gibraltar's management team will continue to push Gibraltar down the cost curve enhancing our profitability.'
Mr. Hallbauer concluded, 'We are also extremely pleased with the progress of the Environmental Review of our Prosperity Project over the past three months. The Provincial and Federal agencies are progressing with their work as we had envisioned.
The Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans has provided clarification on its evaluation of our compensation plan for Fish Lake and is harmonizing those efforts with Provincial agencies. This is a very important step for the Project.
We anticipate receiving our Environmental Assessment and we see no obvious encumbrances that would prevent Prosperity from becoming a long life mine, like Gibraltar, contributing economic returns to our shareholders and creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the Cariboo region.'
Gibraltar Production and Sales
- In the six months ended June 30, 2009, copper in concentrate sales
was 39.5 million pounds and 0.71 million pounds of copper cathode was
sold.
