Vancouver-headquartered Taseko Mines will be accelerating construction activities at the Florence project, in Arizona, as the company has concluded more financing for the mine.
TSX-, NYSE American- and LSE-listed Taseko has signed a definitive agreement with Taurus Mining Royalty for a $50-million royalty, with proceeds expected to be received in early February.
The company also expects to draw down the first $10-million of the $50-million Mitsui financing later this month.
To date, site activities have focussed on site preparations, earthworks and civil work for the commercial wellfield. The initial drilling contracts are now being finalised, with drilling of the commercial facility wellfield to start in February.
Further, Taseko expects to sign a fixed-price contract with TIC Kiewit as general contractor for construction of the solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX/EW) plant and associated surface infrastructure. All the major plant components are onsite and the build will begin in the second quarter of this year.
“Signing of the Taurus royalty agreement is another positive milestone for the project. We are excited to be ramping up construction activities at Florence Copper, which will soon be a major new supplier of low-carbon copper cathode to the US market,” comments Taseko president and CEO Stuart McDonald.
“Site preparations and civil work are well advanced, and we're looking forward to commencing wellfield drilling, with four rigs planned to be onsite initially. Construction of the SX/EW plant and other infrastructure represents a significant portion of the remaining project spend, and a fixed-price contract with TIC Kiewit will reduce inflationary risks, as Arizona continues to be a very active construction market.
“Our early work on detailed engineering and procurement of long-lead items has significantly de-risked the construction schedule and we're tracking towards first copper production in the fourth quarter of 2025. We're taking a disciplined approach to the buildout of the commercial facility at Florence, while our existing operations at the Gibraltar mine continue to generate good cashflows in a strong copper price environment."