VANCOUVER, Feb. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - The Government of
Canada has announced it will not
issue the federal authorizations necessary for Taseko's (TSX: TKO;
NYSE MKT: TGB) (the "Company") New Prosperity Project to
proceed.
The Company fundamentally disagrees with the
decision the federal government has made and believes they based
their decision on a panel report which contains serious flaws. New
Prosperity can be built to a high standard of environmental
integrity, including the full protection of Fish Lake.
Russell
Hallbauer, President and CEO of Taseko commented, "We are
not alone in our disappointment. Many others, including the
Government of British Columbia and
the thousands of Cariboo residents who have worked hard to support
New Prosperity will be similarly discouraged. We thank each of them
for the confidence they have placed in us and wish to assure them
that our commitment to the Cariboo remains strong. We will continue
to support the excellent work of our 700 employees at Gibraltar, Canada's second largest open pit copper mine
and the largest employer in the Cariboo region."
Mr. Hallbauer continued, "At the invitation of
the federal government in 2010, Taseko committed $300 million to address the concerns from the
first panel review and submitted a new proposal. After a second
lengthy and costly federal review, the federal government has once
again stood in the way of the development of an important project
to British Columbia."
Taseko will proceed with the federal judicial
review which commenced in December. The judicial review challenges
certain Panel findings and the Panel's failure to comply with
principles of procedural fairness.
Taseko will take the necessary steps to protect
this valuable asset, but at the same time, will also look at other
opportunities to increase shareholder value.
Russell
Hallbauer
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 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 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.gov and home jurisdiction filings
that are available at www.sedar.com.
SOURCE Taseko Mines Limited