The Gibraltar mine in British Columbia
The Gibraltar mine, in British Columbia, delivered a 26% increase in copper production last year, with output of 123-million pounds, TSX- and LSE-listed Taseko Mines reported on Wednesday.
Fourth-quarter output of 34-million pounds of copper and 369 000 lb of molybdenum was supported by strong copper grades with ore from the lower benches of the Gibraltar pit.
Mill throughput in the quarter averaged 83 000 t/d and was impacted on by additional downtime for maintenance and monitoring of the ball mill in concentrator number two.
Taseko reported fourth-quarter copper sales volumes of 36-million pounds and said that year-end concentrate inventories remained above normal levels.
"The strong finish to 2023 is expected to continue in 2024 as the Gibraltar pit will remain the main source of ore for the first half of this year,” said president and CEO Stuart McDonald.