800
West Pender Street, Suite 1020
Vancouver , British Columbia
Canada V6C 2V6
Tel: 604-684-6365
Fax: 604-684-8092
Toll Free: 1-800-667-2114
www.tasekomines.com
TASEKO
RECEIVES LONG-TERM MINING
LEASE FOR ITS
PROSPERITY GOLD-COPPER PROJECT
June 9, 2010, Vancouver, BC - Taseko Mines Limited
(TSX: TKO; NYSE Amex: TGB) ("Taseko" or the "Company")
is pleased to announce that the British Columbia Provincial Government has
granted Taseko a long-term, renewable, 25-year mining lease for the Prosperity
gold-copper project. The mining lease provides the Company with mineral tenure
security.
Russell Hallbauer, President and CEO of Taseko commented, "Converting
the Prosperity mineral claims to a mining lease is another important milestone
in the development of our Prosperity Project and a further endorsement by
the British Columbia Government. The mining lease represents a direct interest
in land and is the highest attainable form of mineral ownership rights associated
with publicly-owned crown land in British Columbia. The mining lease also
provides Taseko with the right to use the land for mining purposes."
In January of this year, the British Columbia Government awarded Taseko an
Environmental Assessment Certificate for Prosperity. In May, the Company announced
a gold stream finance agreement with Franco Nevada which, when combined with
the proceeds generated by the sale of 25% of Gibraltar to a Japanese consortium
and future Gibraltar cash flow, will give Taseko approximately 80% of the
funds required to build Prosperity.
Securing a mining lease is one of the conditions stipulated in the agreement
with Franco Nevada. With the issuance of this long-term lease by the Government,
an important condition of that agreement has now been met.
The Company has been actively preparing and pursuing other permit applications
and requirements, amongst them being the provincial Mines Act Permit.
For further information on Taseko, please see the Company's website www.tasekomines.com
or contact: Brian Bergot, Investor Relations - 778-373-4545, Toll Free
1-800-667-2114.
No regulatory authority has approved
or disapproved of the information contained in this news release.
CAUTION
REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This document contains "forward-looking statements" that were based
on Taseko's expectations, estimates and projections as of the dates as
of which those statements were made. Generally, these forward-looking statements
can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "outlook",
"anticipate", "project", "target", "believe",
"estimate", "expect", "intend", "should" and
similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties
and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, level of
activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These included but
are not limited to:
• uncertainties
and costs related to the Company's exploration and development activities,
such as those associated with continuity of mineralization or determining
whether mineral resources or reserves exist on a property;
• uncertainties
related to the accuracy of our estimates of mineral reserves, mineral resources,
production rates and timing of production, future production and future cash
and total costs of production and milling;
• uncertainties
related to feasibility studies that provide estimates of expected or anticipated
costs, expenditures and economic returns from a mining project;
• uncertainties
related to our ability to complete the mill upgrade on time estimated and
at the scheduled cost;
• uncertainties
related to the ability to obtain necessary licenses permits for development
projects and project delays due to third party opposition;
• uncertainties
related to unexpected judicial or regulatory proceedings;
• changes in,
and the effects of, the laws, regulations and government policies affecting
our exploration and development activities and mining operations, particularly
laws, regulations and policies;
• changes in general
economic conditions, the financial markets and in the demand and market price
for copper, gold and other minerals and commodities, such as diesel fuel,
steel, concrete, electricity and other forms of energy, mining equipment,
and fluctuations in exchange rates, particularly with respect to the value
of the U.S. dollar and Canadian dollar, and the continued availability of
capital and financing;
• the effects
of forward selling instruments to protect against fluctuations in copper prices
and exchange rate movements and the risks of counterparty defaults, and mark
to market risk;
• the risk of
inadequate insurance or inability to obtain insurance to cover mining risks;
• the risk of
loss of key employees; the risk of changes in accounting policies and methods
we use to report our financial condition, including uncertainties associated
with critical accounting assumptions and estimates;
• environmental
issues and liabilities associated with mining including processing and stock
piling ore; and
• labour strikes,
work stoppages, or other interruptions to, or difficulties in, the employment
of labour in markets in which we operate mines, or environmental hazards,
industrial accidents or other events or occurrences, including third party
interference that interrupt the production of minerals in our mines.
For further information on Taseko, investors should review the Company's
annual Form 40-F filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission
www.sec.com and home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com.