TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Base metals producer Taseko Mines this week reported that it had lifted copper output by 37% year-on-year and doubled molybdenum output during the three months ended June from its flagship 75%-owned Gibraltar mine, in British Columbia.

The Vancouver-based miner reported copper output from Canada’s second-largest openpit copper/molybdenum mine of 38.5-million pounds and 667 000 lb of molybdenum, and total output for the first six months of the year of 73-million pounds of copper and 1.2-million pounds of molybdenum.

In the second quarter, total sales were 38.7-million pounds of copper and 731 000 lb of molybdenum.

Concentrator throughput was 7.7-million tons in the second quarter, a 10% increase from the seven-million tonnes achieved in the first quarter. This resulted in average throughput of 85 000 t a calendar day, the mill’s nameplate capacity, or 92 700 t an operating day.

Taseko said on Monday that recoveries remained a focus of the operations team and that it was making headway towards reaching target levels.

The copper grade for the period remained below the Granite Pit average, roughly in line with the first quarter. However, the copper grade was now returning to the average grade where it was expected to remain for the balance of 2014.

NEW PROSPERITY JUDGMENT

A landmark Supreme Court ruling at the end of last month paved the way to a new beginning for Taseko’s embattled and twice-rejected New Prosperity gold/copper project, also in British Columbia.

The company said the ruling answered the question of whether and to what extent aboriginal rights and title exist on the New Prosperity project.

The ruling confirmed that Taseko's New Prosperity project was located in an area where aboriginal title did not exist. As such, New Prosperity became the only proposed mine in British Columbia where it is known for sure it is not in an area of aboriginal title.

“Now that these matters have been settled, the opportunity exists for a constructive and mutually beneficial way forward for the New Prosperity project. We welcome and look forward to the opportunity to re-establish a positive dialogue with the six Tsilhqot'in bands represented by the Tsilhqot'in national government about New Prosperity and its potential to assist them with advancing community priorities,” Taseko president and CEO Russell Hallbauer said at the time.

Despite the provincial government having approved the project near Williams Lake, two federal panels and the federal government had rejected it on grounds that it would harm the environment, citing damage to fish and fish habitat.

Taseko is pressing ahead with a federal judicial review that started in December. The judicial review challenges certain panel findings and the panel’s alleged failure to comply with principles of procedural fairness.

New Prosperity has a measured and indicated resource of 5.3-billion pounds of copper and 13.3-million ounces of gold, with an estimated 20-year-plus mine life. Taseko expects the project will generate more than C$1-billion in government revenue.