tasekomines.com
WILLIAMS LAKE – Taseko Mines Limited announced on January 13 that its Gibraltar Mine produced 111 million pounds of copper and sales of 105 million in 2021.
They also produced and sold two million pounds of molybdenum, and fourth quarter copper production was 29 million pounds.
“Despite major disruption to the highway and rail infrastructure in southern BC from severe rainstorms in November, we were still able to realize 24 million pounds of copper sales in the fourth quarter,” states President and CEO Stuart McDonald. “Transit times for rail shipments are gradually improving and we expect to reduce copper inventories at Gibraltar in the first quarter of 2022.”
McDonald added that production in the fourth quarter was impacted by lower grades and recoveries from ore mined in the upper benches of the Gibraltar pit.
“In December, extreme snowfall and temperatures as low as minus 35 degrees Celsius also impacted mine equipment and mill availabilities, resulting in decreased mill throughput and a need to draw ore from lower grade stockpiles,” he adds. “Weather conditions have improved recently, and mill throughput has stabilized allowing our technical team to focus on optimizing recoveries from Gibraltar pit ore.”
McDonald notes that with the copper price currently at US $4.50 per pound, which is 30 cents higher than the average price in 2021, strong operating margins are expected to be maintained.
