UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 6-K
Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
CIK # 878518
as at March 18, 2010
TASEKO MINES LIMITED
800 West Pender Street, Suite 1020
Vancouver , British Columbia
Canada V6C 2V6
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports
under cover Form 20-F or
Form 40-F.
Form 20-F....... Form 40-F....X.....
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper
as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): ____
Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) only permits the submission in paper of
a Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide an attached annual report to security
holders.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper
as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ____
Indicate by check mark whether by furnishing the information contained in
this Form, the registrant is also thereby furnishing the information to the
Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934.
Yes ..... No .....
If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the
registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82- ________
Signatures
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned,
thereunto duly authorized.
By: /s/ Russell E. Hallbauer
Director and Chief Executive Officer
Date: March 24, 2010
Print the name and title of the signing officer under his signature.
800 West Pender
Street, Suite 1020
Vancouver , British Columbia
Canada V6C 2V6
Tel: 604-684-6365
Fax: 604-684-8092
www.tasekomines.com
TASEKO
ANNOUNCES 2009 YEAR END RESULTS
March 18, 2010, Vancouver, BC - Taseko Mines Limited
(TSX: TKO; NYSE Amex: TGB) ("Taseko" or the "Company")
reports the results for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2009.
Except where otherwise noted, all currency amounts are stated in Canadian
dollars.
For the year ended December 31, 2009, Taseko had operating profit of $48.3
million and earnings before tax and other items of $27.0 million, compared
to an operating profit of $28.1 million for the 15 months year ended December
31, 2008. For the quarter ended December 31, 2009, the operating profit was
$15.7 million and earnings before tax and other items was $3 million. Other
items include an unrealized (non cash) loss attributable to derivative instruments.
Annual revenue was $188.9 million from the sale of 68.1 million pounds of
copper and 0.7 million pounds of molybdenum at average realized prices of
US$2.31 per pound and US$11.02 per pound, respectively.
Russell Hallbauer, President and CEO of Taseko commented, "The significant
increase in metal prices in 2009, combined with steadily improving operational
performance at our Gibraltar Mine, contributed to the strong earnings and
cash flow for the year. Financially, we are in excellent shape with sufficient
cash on hand to fund all capital expenditures at Gibraltar in 2010. Our Gibraltar
team is making steady progress on construction projects and the new in-pit
crusher/conveyor system, which is expected to begin its commissioning phase
later this month."
Mr. Hallbauer continued, "Public hearings regarding the federal environmental
assessment review of our Prosperity Project will commence on March 22 in Williams
Lake. These hearings will take place in the local communities and are expected
to last six weeks. Local support remains very strong and we are confident
that all the hard work undertaken will create positive consequences through
this final phase of the environmental assessment.
The financing elements of the $815 million Prosperity Project are being advanced
with the timing of these initiatives aligned with the overall project schedule.
In addition to the approximately $180 million from the sale of 25% of Gibraltar,
which is expected to close imminently, we continue to work towards the sale
of 20-25% of Prosperity's gold production for proceeds of approximately
$350 million. Including Gibraltar cash flow, we anticipate having at least
75% of the cash requirements to build Prosperity committed by the time we
receive federal approval."
Highlights
Gibraltar Production and Sales
•
In
the 12-months ended December 31, 2009, production was 70.3 million pounds
of copper and 0.6 million pounds of molybdenum, 12 percent and 14 percent
higher, respectively, than in the same period in 2008.
•
In the 12-months ended December 31, 2009, copper in concentrate
sales was 65.9 million pounds and 2.2 million pounds of copper cathode was
sold. Molybdenum in concentrate sales was 0.7 million pounds.
The following table is a summary of operating statistics:
Three
months ending December 31, 2009 |
Twelves
months ending December 31, 2009 |
|
Total tons mined (millions)1 | 11.3 |
34.9 |
Tons of ore milled (millions) | 3.2 |
13.0 |
Stripping ratio | 2.2 |
1.8 |
Copper grade (%) | 0.319 |
0.319 |
Molybdenum grade (%Mo) | 0.010 |
0.011 |
Copper recovery (%) | 84.1 |
82.3 |
Molybdenum recovery (%) | 20.9 |
24.4 |
Copper production (millions lb)2 | 17.4 |
70.3 |
Molybdenum production (thousands lbs) | 113 |
629 |
Foreign Exchange ($C/$US) | 1.06 |
1.14 |
Copper production costs, net of by-product credits3, per lb of copper | US$1.67 |
US$1.24 |
Off property costs for transport, treatment (smelting & refining) & sales per lb of copper | US$0.31 |
US$0.30 |
Total cash costs of production per lb of copper | US$1.98 |
US$1.54 |
October
2009 |
November
2009 |
December
2009 |
January
2010 |
February
2010 |
|
Mill Throughput (millions, tons) | 1.1 |
1.1 |
1.0 |
1.2 |
1.2 |
Recoveries (%) | 79.9 |
82.8 |
89.8 |
88.9 |
90.1 |
Production (millions, pounds) | 4.8 |
5.7 |
6.8 |
8.7 |
6.8 |
Taseko
will host a conference call on Friday, March 19, 2010 at 11:00 a.m.
Eastern Time (8:00 a.m. Pacific) to discuss these results. The conference
call may be accessed by dialing (888) 300-2318, or (719) 325-2112
internationally. A live and archived audio webcast will also be available
at www.tasekomines.com. The conference call will be archived for later playback until March 26, 2010 and can be accessed by dialing (888) 203-1112 in Canada and the United States, or (719) 457-0820 internationally and using the passcode 7449730. |