Taseko Mines (TSX: TKO; NYSE-AM: TGB; LSE: TKO) reported on Wednesday that its flagship Gibraltar mine produced 25% more copper in the third quarter than the the second, owing to higher grades, improved recoveries and increased mill throughput.
The company reported production of 35 million lb. of copper and 369,000 lb. of molybdenum for the quarter.
Taseko acquired Sojitz’s 12.5% stake in Cariboo Copper, the joint venture that runs Gibraltar, in March. It now owns 87.5% of the mine. The production figures are reported on a 100% basis.
Sojitz sold its interest for minimum payments of $60 million over five years, but could receive more based on production and revenue figures.
Stuart McDonald, CEO of Taseko, said in a press release that mining in the Gibraltar pit is progressing on plan and the lower benches are providing the ore quality the company expected.
The molybdenum production also represents a 60% quarterly increase due to higher grades as mining progressed deeper into the Gibraltar pit.
Taseko also noted that a port workers strike in early July caused shipping delays and a build-up of Gibraltar copper concentrate inventory.
As a result, third quarter sales volumes lagged production by 3 million lb., and the excess inventory is expected to be shipped and sold in the fourth quarter.
Shares of Taseko Mines closed Wednesday’s session 0.6% lower, with a market capitalization of roughly $465 million.
Located in the Cariboo region of south-central British Columbia, Gibraltar is the second-largest open pit copper mine in Canada and fourth-largest in North America.
The company also recently received the last permits needed to advance its Florence in situ recovery copper project in Arizona into construction.
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