Taseko Receives Approvals for US$100 Million in Additional Financing for Florence Copper

Rhea-AI Summary

Taseko Mines Limited announces two additional financing transactions totaling US$100 million for its Florence Copper Project in Arizona. Taurus Mining Royalty Fund has approved a US$50 million royalty, and Societe Generale has approved a US$50 million senior secured debt facility. These funds will be used for the construction and development of the commercial production facility. The project has received a total of US$175 million in commitments from industry participants.

Positive

• Taseko Mines has secured US$100 million in financing for its Florence Copper Project.
• Taurus Mining Royalty Fund has approved a US$50 million royalty for the project.
• Societe Generale has approved a US$50 million senior secured debt facility for the project.
• The funds will be used for the construction and development of the commercial production facility.
• The project has received a total of US$175 million in commitments from industry participants.

Negative

• None.

VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - 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.

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SOURCE Taseko Mines Limited

FAQ

What is the purpose of the financing transactions?

The financing transactions are for the construction and development of the commercial production facility for Taseko Mines' Florence Copper Project.

Who has approved the US$50 million royalty?

Taurus Mining Royalty Fund has approved the US$50 million royalty for the Florence Copper Project.

Who has approved the US$50 million senior secured debt facility?

Societe Generale has approved the US$50 million senior secured debt facility for the Florence Copper Project.

How much funding has the project received in total?

The project has received a total of US$175 million in commitments from industry participants.

Who is acting as the Company's financial adviser for these transactions?

Endeavour Financial is acting as the Company's financial adviser for these transactions.