Taseko Receives Approvals for US$100 Million in Additional Financing for
Florence
Copper
VANCOUVER,
BC, Nov. 6, 2023 - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX: TKO)
(NYSE American: TGB) (LSE: TKO) ("Taseko" or the "Company") is
pleased to provide an update on two additional financing
transactions, totalling US$100
million, for its Florence Copper Project in Arizona, USA. The Company has been notified
that Taurus Mining Royalty Fund L.P. ("Taurus") has obtained
investment committee approval for a US$50
million royalty, and Societe Generale has received credit
approval for a US$50 million senior
secured debt facility. Upon closing and satisfaction of conditions
precedent, proceeds from these project level financings will
be available to Florence Copper to fund the construction and
development of the commercial production
facility.
Stuart McDonald,
President and CEO of Taseko, commented, "The Taurus royalty and the
project loan facility from Societe Generale complement the
previously announced commitments from Mitsui and Bank of America. A
total of US$175 million from these
four well-regarded industry participants is a strong endorsement of
Florence Copper's technical merits, attractive economics, and
favorable environmental
attributes."
"Florence Copper will supply 85 million pounds of
copper, now defined a critical material by the Department of
Energy, to the US domestic market. With the permitting process
complete and these new financings expected to close in the coming
months, we can now begin construction of the commercial facility at
Florence," concluded Mr.
McDonald.
Additional Florence Financing
Details
Florence Project
Royalty
The US$50 million
royalty ("Royalty") has received investment committee approval from
Taurus. The Royalty will be for 1.95% of the gross revenue from the
sale of all copper from Florence Copper for the life of mine. The
US$50 million of consideration is
payable upon the satisfaction of customary conditions precedent for
closing. The Royalty will be registered on title and will otherwise
be unsecured.
Senior Secured Project Loan
Facility
The US$50 million
senior secured debt facility will be provided by Societe Generale
subject to completion of definitive documentation and the
satisfaction of conditions precedent. The facility also contains a
US$25 million uncommitted accordion
feature which can be exercised by the Company in the future to
increase its size to US$75 million if
needed, subject to additional credit approval at that
time.
The maturity date of the Florence debt facility will be five years from
the date of closing, with no scheduled principal repayments until
the maturity date when any outstanding amounts will be repayable.
The facility contains covenants and restrictions customary for a
project loan facility. The facility will have a first lien charge
over the assets of Florence and an
unsecured guarantee from the Company until completion. Societe
Generale's credit approval will be formalized in a commitment
letter containing customary
conditions.
Endeavour Financial is acting as the Company's
financial adviser in connection with these
transactions.
Stuart
McDonald
President and
CEO
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 about the future market price of copper
and the other metals that we produce or may seek to
produce;
-
changes in general economic conditions, the financial
markets, inflation and interest rates and in the demand and market
price for our input costs, such as diesel fuel, reagents, 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;
-
uncertainties resulting from the war in Ukraine, and the accompanying international
response including economic sanctions levied against Russia, which has disrupted the global
economy, created increased volatility in commodity markets
(including oil and gas prices), and disrupted international trade
and financial markets, all of which have an ongoing and uncertain
effect on global economics, supply chains, availability of
materials and equipment and execution timelines for project
development;
-
uncertainties about the continuing impact of the
novel coronavirus ("COVID-19") and the response of local,
provincial, state, federal and international governments to the
ongoing threat of COVID-19, on our operations (including our
suppliers, customers, supply chains, employees and contractors) and
economic conditions generally including rising inflation levels and
in particular with respect to the demand for copper and other
metals we
produce;
-
inherent risks associated with mining operations,
including our current mining operations at Gibraltar, and their potential impact on our
ability to achieve our production
estimates;
-
uncertainties as to our ability to control our
operating costs, including inflationary cost pressures at
Gibraltar without impacting our
planned copper
production;
-
the risk of inadequate insurance or inability to
obtain insurance to cover material mining or operational
risks;
-
uncertainties related to the feasibility study for
Florence copper project (the
"Florence Copper Project" or "Florence Copper") that provides
estimates of expected or anticipated capital and operating costs,
expenditures and economic returns from this mining project,
including the impact of inflation on the estimated costs related to
the construction of the Florence Copper Project and our other
development
projects;
-
the risk that the results from our operations of the
Florence Copper production test facility ("PTF") and ongoing
engineering work including updated capital and operating costs will
negatively impact our estimates for current projected economics for
commercial operations at Florence
Copper;
-
uncertainties related to the accuracy of our
estimates of Mineral Reserves (as defined below), Mineral Resources
(as defined below), production rates and timing of production,
future production and future cash and total costs of production and
milling;
-
the risk that we may not be able to expand or replace
reserves as our existing mineral reserves are
mined;
-
the availability of, and uncertainties relating to
the development of, additional financing and infrastructure
necessary for the advancement of our development projects,
including with respect to our ability to obtain any remaining
construction financing potentially needed to move forward with
commercial operations at Florence
Copper;
-
our ability to comply with the extensive governmental
regulation to which our business is
subject;
-
uncertainties related to our ability to obtain
necessary title, licenses and permits for our development projects
and project delays due to third party opposition, particularly in
respect to Florence Copper that requires one key regulatory permit
from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") in order to
advance to commercial
operations;
-
our ability to deploy strategic capital and award key
contracts to assist with protecting the Florence Copper project
execution plan, mitigating inflation risk and the potential impact
of supply chain disruptions on our construction schedule and
ensuring a smooth transition into construction once the final
permit is received from the
EPA;
-
uncertainties related to First Nations claims and
consultation
issues;
-
our reliance on rail transportation and port
terminals for shipping our copper concentrate production from
Gibraltar;
-
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 and mine closure and bonding
requirements;
-
our dependence solely on our 87.5% interest in
Gibraltar (as defined below) for
revenues and operating
cashflows;
-
our ability to collect payments from customers,
extend existing concentrate off-take agreements or enter into new
agreements;
-
environmental issues and liabilities associated with
mining including processing and stock piling
ore;
-
labour strikes, work stoppages, or other
interruptions to, or difficulties in, the employment of labour in
markets in which we operate our mine, industrial accidents,
equipment failure or other events or occurrences, including third
party interference that interrupt the production of minerals in our
mine;
-
environmental hazards and risks associated with
climate change, including the potential for damage to
infrastructure and stoppages of operations due to forest fires,
flooding, drought, or other natural events in the vicinity of our
operations;
-
litigation risks and the inherent uncertainty of
litigation, including litigation to which Florence Copper could be
subject
to;
-
our actual costs of reclamation and mine closure may
exceed our current estimates of these
liabilities;
-
our ability to meet the financial reclamation
security requirements for the Gibraltar mine and Florence
Project;
-
the capital intensive nature of our business both to
sustain current mining operations and to develop any new projects,
including Florence
Copper;
-
our reliance upon key management and operating
personnel;
-
the competitive environment in which we
operate;
-
the effects of forward selling instruments to protect
against fluctuations in copper prices, foreign exchange, interest
rates or input costs such as
fuel;
-
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; and Management Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A"),
quarterly reports and material change reports filed with and
furnished to securities regulators, and those risks which are
discussed under the heading "Risk
Factors".
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.gov and home
jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com, including
the "Risk Factors" included in our Annual Information
Form.
For further information on Taseko and Florence
Copper, see the Company's website at www.tasekomines.com or
contact: Brian Bergot, Vice
President, Investor Relations - 778-373-4533 or toll free
1-877-441-4533