UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 6-K
Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
CIK # 878518
as at August 12, 2008
TASEKO MINES LIMITED
800 West Pender Street, Suite 1020
Vancouver , British Columbia
Canada V6C 2V6
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F...X.... Form 40-F.........
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper
as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): ____
Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) only permits the submission in paper
of a Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide an attached annual report to
security holders.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper
as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ____
Indicate by check mark whether by furnishing the information contained in
this Form, the registrant is also thereby furnishing the information to
the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934.
Yes ..... No .....
If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to
the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82- ________
Signatures
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
By: /s/ Russell E. Hallbauer
President & CEO
Date: August 12, 2008
Print the name and title of the signing officer under his signature.
1020 - 800 W Pender St.
Vancouver BC
Canada V6C 2V6
Tel 604 684 - 6365
Fax 604 684 - 8092
Toll Free 1 800 667 - 2114
www.tasekomines.com
TASEKO ANNOUNCES THIRD QUARTER
FISCAL 2008 RESULTS
August 12, 2008, Vancouver, BC - Taseko Mines
Limited (TSX: TKO; AMEX: TGB) ("Taseko" or the "Company")
reports its results for the three months ended June 30, 2008. This release
should be read with the Company's Financial Statements and Management
Discussion & Analysis, available at www.tasekomines.com and filed on www.sedar.com.
Currency values are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.
The Company reported an operating profit of $16.0 million and net earnings
of $3.8 million or $0.03 per share.
Sales for the quarter were 13.0 million pounds of copper at an average realized
price of US$3.86 and 78,000 pounds of molybdenum at an average price of US$33.57
per pound.
Gibraltar concentrator operating time was impacted by an unplanned 16 day
concentrator shutdown caused by the failure of the main transformer feeding
power to the semi autogenous grinding (SAG) mill. Quarterly operating profit
was impacted by reduced metal production resulting from the transformer failure;
one time expenditures related to accelerated work undertaken both in the Granite
Pit and the concentrator during the concentrator downtime; as well as increases
in consumables prices such as fuel, steel, and reagents.
Cash flow was affected by a working capital adjustment of $9.9 million in
increased product inventory costs and $10.2 million in prepayment for Gibraltar
and Prosperity long lead time equipment delivery payments.
A summary of the key results in the third quarter compared to the same quarter
in fiscal 2007 are:
Quarter
Ended June 30, 2008 |
Quarter
Ended June 30, 2007 |
|
Revenue |
$53.2 million |
$55.9 million |
Copper1 |
$50.9 million |
$49.9 million |
Molybdenum |
$ 2.3 million |
$ 5.6 million |
Cash Flow2 |
($ 5.4 million ) |
$14.6 million |
Cash Flow per Share (basic) |
($0.04) |
$0.11 |
Operating Profit3 |
$16.0 million |
$28.4 million |
Earnings before income tax |
$9.1 million |
$19.1 million |
Earnings (after tax) |
$ 3.8 million |
$12.4 million |
Earnings per share (basic) |
$0.03 |
$0.10 |
1
Copper revenue in 2008 includes proceeds from sales of copper concentrate
and copper cathode.
2 Cash flow and cash flow per share are numbers used by the Company
to assess its performance.
They are not terms recognized under generally accepted accounting principles.
Cash flow is defined as cash flow from operations including net change in
working capital balances and cash flow
per share is the same measure divided by the number of common shares outstanding
during the period.
3 Operating profit is comprised of revenues less cost of sales
and depletion, depreciation and amortization.
Russell Hallbauer, President and CEO of Taseko commented, "This past
quarter we had many operational and corporate successes which unfortunately
were offset by the failure of the main Gibraltar transformer. Although the
ramp up of Gibraltar's Phase I expansion has proven to be more challenging
than originally anticipated, our operations team is continuing to make good
progress towards achieving the interim design capacity of 46,000 tons per
day."
Mr. Hallbauer continued, "Our focus has not changed, the Gibraltar expansion
projects are on time and on budget and we are increasing production as quickly
as possible to capitalize on the continued copper market strength. The Prosperity
team is moving ahead with engineering and procurement, given the Provincial
Government's recent decision to move Prosperity into the environmental
assessment review. Taseko is in an ideal position with near-, medium- and
long-term production growth from its 100% wholly-owned assets."
Third Quarter Highlights
Corporate
° The Company entered into purchase agreements
for mining and milling equipment for ongoing expansions at Gibraltar and
for long lead time major milling equipment for the Prosperity project.
° Taseko entered into a long-term agreement
with MRI Trading AG, securing low cost rates for processing six years of
Gibraltar mine production. Included within the framework of this agreement
is a $30 million line of credit.
° Taseko personnel introduced the Prosperity
Project to twelve independent copper smelting companies in order to begin
the process of negotiating off-take agreements for the Prosperity concentrate.
° Taseko acquired Oakmont Ventures Ltd. which
held a 30% Net Profits Interest on Gibraltar Mine property adjacent to the
Gibraltar East Pit.
° An initiative to address future manpower
requirements for both the Gibraltar Mine and the Prosperity Project was
introduced into the local communities. The program, titled Mining Your Future,
is designed to identify people who desire a career in the mining industry
and assist them in gaining the skills and education needed to meet both
their ambitions and the needs of the Company.
Gibraltar Mine
° 75,000 feet of definition drilling was completed
in and around the Gibraltar East Pit area. Geological modeling and engineering
of the incoming data is ongoing and an increase of the Gibraltar mineral
reserves is expected when new estimates are completed in September of this
year.
° All construction of the Phase II expansion,
required to increase mill production capacity to 55,000 tons per day, is
scheduled to be completed on budget by February 2009.
° Phase III mill expansion engineering has
confirmed earlier capital cost and scheduling estimates. Gibraltar's
Phase III 28-foot diameter SAG mill was ordered during the quarter with
a 24-month delivery schedule versus the 42-month standard delivery times
in the world for greater than 30-foot diameter SAG mills.
° The construction schedule for the new
molybdenum plant portion of the Phase III mill expansion was accelerated,
completion is now scheduled for mid-2009.
° Lead times for mining equipment deliveries
were accelerated by 12 months over current industry averages for haulage
trucks and by 15 months for shovels, ensuring mine operations can keep pace
with ongoing mill expansion work.
Prosperity Project
° Definitive timelines have been established
by the Ministry of Environment of British Columbia to progress the Prosperity
Project under provisions of the Provincial Environmental Assessment. The
first intergovernmental working group review meetings are scheduled for
September.
° Final engineered layout and flowsheets for
the concentrator were completed during the quarter. This has allowed detailed
engineering in specific areas where procurement of long delivery equipment
is required to minimize the project timeline. Accordingly, payments securing
the heads and trunnions for the Prosperity 38-foot SAG mill construction
have been placed and discussions with manufacturers of other long lead time
items are continuing.
Gibraltar Quarterly Operating Costs
Cost per pound of copper in the third quarter of fiscal 2008 was US$2.79
per pound (total cash cost US$3.25 per pound), and is higher than the US$1.14
per pound (total cash cost US$1.46 per pound) in the same quarter in 2007.
The increase in the current quarter was the result of lower copper production
due to a transformer failure, increased waste stripping, increases in the
prices of site consumables, strength of Canadian currency, and other areas.
The approximate effect of major variances on the quarterly cost (in US$)
per pound of copper produced is as follows:
° Canadian to US dollar exchange
rate $0.23/lb
° Production loss due to transformer
failure $0.52/lb
° Accelerated maintenance on the
grinding circuit during shutdown $0.13/lb
° Continued waste stripping during
the transformer down $0.25/lb
° Increased price of fuel, steel
, explosives, and reagents $0.26/lb
° Below target copper recovery
$0.24/lb
As the ramp up of the Phase I and future Phases II and III expansions progress,
cash costs should decline accordingly. Taseko forecasts long-term, normalized
cash costs for the Gibraltar operation in the range of US$1.30 per pound,
including both site and off property costs.
Taseko will host a conference
call on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (8:00
a.m. Pacific) to discuss these results. The conference call may be accessed
by dialing (877) 548-7911, or (719) 325-4881 internationally. A live
and archived audio webcast will also be available at www.tasekomines.com.
The conference call will be archived for later playback until August 20, 2008 and can be accessed by dialing (888) 203-1112 in Canada and the United States, or (719) 457-0820 and using the passcode 3007346. |
For further details on Taseko and its properties, please visit the Company's
website at www.tasekomines.com or contact Investor Services at (604) 684-6365
or within North America at 1-800-667-2114.
Russell Hallbauer
President and CEO
No regulatory authority accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy
of this release.
Forward
Looking Statements
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking
statements". All statements in this release, other than statements
of historical facts, that address future production, reserve potential,
exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments
that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. Although the Company
believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are
based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future
performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from
those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include
capital market conditions, commodities market prices, exploitation and exploration
successes, lack of continuity of mineralization, completion of the mill
upgrade on time estimated and at scheduled cost, continued availability
of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions.
Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future
performance and that actual results or developments may differ materially
from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information
on the Company, Investors should review the Company's annual Form 20-F
filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or the
Company's home jurisdiction filings at www.sedar.com.