800 West Pender
Street, Suite 1020
Vancouver , British Columbia
Canada V6C 2V6
Tel: 778-373-4545
Toll Free: 1-0800-667-2114
www.tasekomines.com
TASEKO
ANNOUNCES A NEW 7.7 MILLION OZ GOLD AND
3.6 BILLION LB COPPER RESERVE AT PROSPERITY
November 2, 2009, Vancouver, BC - Taseko Mines Limited
(TSX: TKO; NYSE Amex: TGB) ("Taseko" or the "Company")
is pleased to announce a 70% increase in mineral reserves at its 100% owned
Prosperity Project, from 487 million tonnes to 830 million tonnes.
The reserve increase will add 3.0 million ounces of recoverable gold and 1.6
billion lbs of recoverable copper to the Prosperity reserve base, bringing
total recoverable metal to 7.7 million ounces of gold and 3.6 billion lbs
of copper.
This increase in recoverable metal, under present mine design criteria, extends
Prosperity's mine life from 20 years to 33 years.
Reserves were previously based on a $5.25 Net Smelter Return ("NSR")
cut-off using gold and copper prices of $500/oz and $1.50/lb, respectively.
Current reserves are based on a $5.50 NSR cut-off using gold and copper prices
of $650/oz and $1.65/lb, respectively.
Russell Hallbauer, President and CEO of Taseko commented, "In keeping
with our historically conservative approach to reserve calculations, we have
modestly adjusted our gold and copper price assumptions to better reflect
longer-term metal price expectations. This increase in metal price assumptions
will allow us to mine deeper, higher grade mineralization.
Prosperity now has the largest gold/copper reserve base of any mining project
in Canada. At present gold and copper prices the projected operating costs
per ounce of gold, net of copper credit, will be negative US$330/oz. With
the size of this reserve and the longevity of its mine life, Prosperity will
be one of the great mines of Canada. The 64% increase in recoverable gold
and 80% increase in recoverable copper will allow Prosperity to operate for
over 3 decades.
We look forward to the upcoming completion of our Environmental Assessment
Review and getting on with building a mine that can benefit so many local,
provincial and national stakeholders."
Mineral Reserves @ C$5.50 NSR/t Cut-Off |
|||||||
|
Size M Tonnes |
Grade |
Recoverable Metal |
Contained Metal |
|||
Au (g/t) |
Cu (%) |
Au (M oz) |
Cu (B lbs) |
Au (M oz) |
Cu (B lbs) |
||
Proven |
481 |
0.46 |
0.26 |
5.0 |
2.4 |
7.1 |
2.8 |
Probable |
350 |
0.35 |
0.18 |
2.7 |
1.2 |
3.9 |
1.4 |
Total |
831 |
0.41 |
0.23 |
7.7 |
3.6 |
11.0 |
4.2 |