Industria
Taseko Announces Improved Third Quarter Financial and Operational Results
Gibraltar copper production significantly improved over the previous two quarters as mining continued to advance deeper into higher grade ore in the Connector pit. In the third quarter, Gibraltar produced 27.6 million pounds of copper, which includes 895 thousand pounds of copper cathode, and 558 thousand pounds of molybdenum. Mill throughput for the quarter was in line with the nameplate capacity of 85,000 tons per day, and an average copper grade of 0.22% was processed. Copper recoveries for the third quarter were 77%. Both grade and recoveries were markedly higher than the previous two quarters and are expected to increase again in the fourth quarter. Molybdenum grades, which typically track copper grades, were also higher than the previous quarters resulting in much improved production.
Total operating (C1) cost * was US$2.87 per pound, lower than the previous quarter and expected to continue to trend downward in the fourth quarter.
At Florence Copper, the general contractor for the SX/EW plant area achieved substantial completion in September and began to demobilize construction crews. The focus has shifted to commissioning of the key processing circuits. Wellfield operations commenced in mid-October and are now ramping up with first solutions being injected in early November. Commissioning of the SX/EW plant will advance in parallel with the initial acidification of the wellfield and the facility is expected to produce first copper cathode early next year.
Stuart McDonald, President & CEO of Taseko, commented, “Our construction and operating teams at Florence have achieved a number of significant milestones in recent months and have successfully completed this major capital project in line with our execution plan. Initial flow rates in the commercial wellfield have been in line with expectations at this point of the wellfield ramp up process, and we’re now very close to first cathode production. Drilling activity will also restart on the wellfield in the next few weeks. These additional wells are required to ramp up cathode production in 2026.”
“Gibraltar copper production improved in the third quarter as mining advanced through the more complex mineralized zones, and copper grades and recoveries were stronger. The current benches in the Connector pit are expected to produce higher copper grades again in the fourth quarter and result in another increase in recoveries and copper production,” continued Mr. McDonald.
“The US$173 million equity financing that we successfully completed in October has significantly strengthened our balance sheet. A portion of the proceeds have now been used to pay off the US$75 million that was drawn on the corporate revolver. The working capital injection also allows us to restart wellfield drilling at Florence Copper, earlier than planned, which will benefit the ramp up in 2026.”
“Despite the recent price volatility, the fundamentals of the copper market remain healthy. Copper prices are expected to remain strong in 2026 as accelerating demand from electrification and constrained mine supply continue to tighten the global market,” concluded Mr. McDonald.
Third Quarter Review
Highlights
Review of Operations
Gibraltar
Operations Analysis
Third Quarter Review
Mining is advancing deeper into the Connector pit and is beginning to benefit from improved copper grades and ore quality. A total of 29.3 million tons were mined in the third quarter, comparable to the previous quarter.
Operations Analysis - Continued
Gibraltar copper production increased to 27.6 million pounds, including 0.9 million pounds of copper cathode. Copper head grades averaged 0.22% and while behind plan was significantly improved over the first two quarters of 2025. Copper head grades are expected to further improve in the fourth quarter as mining progresses deeper into the Connector pit. Copper recoveries averaged 77% for the quarter and steadily improved as mining advanced beyond the oxidized and supergene zones encountered in the initial phases of Connector pit.
Mill throughput was 7.8 million tons in the third quarter, in line with nameplate milling capacity of 85,000 tons per day.
Total site costs* were $123.8 million (including capitalized stripping of $6.1 million) for the third quarter and was higher than the prior year comparative quarter reflecting higher mining rates and the restart of the SX/EW plant.
Molybdenum production was 558 thousand pounds for the third quarter, representing a 33% increase compared to the prior year comparative quarter, primarily due to increased molybdenum grades in the Connector pit ore. At an average molybdenum price of US$24.37 per pound for the quarter, molybdenum contributed to a by-product credit of US$0.39 per pound of copper produced.
Off-property costs of US$0.17 per pound of copper produced was comparable with the previous quarter and was lower than the prior year comparative quarter reflecting Gibraltar’s favorable 2025 offtake agreements with average treatment and refining charges (“TCRC”) of $nil for the year.
Total operating (C1) costs* were US$2.87 per pound of copper produced for the third quarter compared to US$2.92 per pound of copper produced for the prior comparative quarter. The decrease in total operating (C1) costs was primarily attributable to higher molybdenum by-product credits, higher capitalized stripping costs, slightly higher copper production, and lower off-property costs partially offset by higher mining rates as outlined in the bridge graph below:
A graph accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7f6bed85-f943-4050-badc-0a334ed6c5eb
Gibraltar Outlook
Mining activity continues to advance deeper into the Connector pit, which will be the primary source of mill feed for the remainder of 2025 and the years ahead. Increases in copper head grades and recoveries are expected in the fourth quarter. Copper production for 2025 is expected to be 100 to 105 million pounds.
Molybdenum production is also expected to further improve reflecting the higher molybdenum grades and recoveries expected from the Connector pit ore.
The Company has offtake agreements covering substantially all of Gibraltar’s copper concentrate production for 2025 and 2026, which contain significantly lower and in certain cases negative (premium) TCRC rates reflecting the tight copper smelting market. Based on the contract terms, the Company expects average TCRCs to be to around $nil for 2025 and 2026.
The Company has a prudent hedging program in place to protect a minimum copper price and Gibraltar cash flow during the commissioning period and ramp up of commercial operations at Florence Copper. Currently, the Company has copper collar contracts in place that secure a minimum copper price of US$4.00 per pound with a maximum copper price of US$5.40 per pound per pound for 27 million pounds of copper production for the remainder of 2025 and 54 million pounds of copper production for the first half of 2026 (refer to “Financial Condition Review—Hedging Strategy” for details).
Florence Copper
The operating team recently commenced wellfield injection and recovery operations, which marks the start up of the commercial production facility at Florence Copper.
In the solvent extraction and electrowinning (“SX/EW”) plant area, the general contractor achieved substantial completion in the third quarter and began to demobilize construction crews. Contractors are wrapping up final construction activities and systematically handing over areas of the SX/EW plant to the operating team for commissioning. Commissioning of the SX/EW plant is scheduled to run in parallel with the acidification of the wellfield and first copper cathode production is expected in about three months.
Florence Copper commercial facility construction costs were US$27.3 million for the third quarter and US$266.6 million has been incurred on the construction as of September 30, 2025.
Long-term Growth Strategy
Taseko’s strategy has been to grow the Company by acquiring and developing a pipeline of projects focused on copper in North America. We continue to believe this will generate long-term returns for shareholders. Our other development projects are located in BC, Canada.
Yellowhead copper project
In July, the Company published a new report titled “Technical Report Update on the Yellowhead Copper Project, British Columbia, Canada” (the “2025 Technical Report”) under the supervision of Richard Weymark, P. Eng., MBA, Vice President, Engineering for Taseko and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43 101.
Based on the 2025 Technical Report, the Yellowhead copper project (“Yellowhead”) is expected to produce 4.4 billion pounds of copper over a 25-year mine life at an average C1 cost, net of by-product credit, of US$1.90 per pound of copper produced. During the first 5 years of operation, Yellowhead is expected to produce an average of 206 million pounds of copper per year at an average C1 cost, net of by-product credit, of US$1.62 per pound of copper produced. Yellowhead also contains valuable precious metal by-products with 282,000 ounces of gold production and 19.4 million ounces of silver production over the life of mine.
The economic analysis in the 2025 Technical Report was prepared using a copper price of US$4.25 per pound, a gold price of US$2,400 per ounce, and a silver price of US$28.00 per ounce.
Project highlights based on the 2025 Technical Report are detailed below:
In June 2025, the project’s Initial Project Description was filed and accepted by the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office and Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, formally commencing the Environmental Assessment process. The Company will continue to engage with project stakeholders to ensure that the development of Yellowhead is in line with environmental and social expectations. The Company opened a community Yellowhead project office in 2024 to support ongoing engagement with local communities including First Nations.
Long-term Growth Strategy - Continued
New Prosperity copper-gold project
In June 2025, Taseko, the Tŝilhqot’in Nation and the Province of BC reached a historic agreement concerning the New Prosperity project (the “Teẑtan Biny Agreement”). The Teẑtan Biny Agreement ends litigation among the parties while providing certainty with respect to how the significant copper-gold resource at New Prosperity may be developed in the future.
Key elements of the Teẑtan Biny Agreement include:
Aley niobium project
The converter pilot test is ongoing to provide additional process data to support the design of commercial process facilities, and final product samples to support product marketing initiatives. The Company is also conducting a scoping study to investigate the potential for Aley niobium oxide production to supply the growing market for niobium-based batteries.
For further information on Taseko, see the Company’s website at tasekomines.com or contact:
Stuart McDonald
President and CEO
Non-GAAP Performance Measures
This MD&A includes certain non-GAAP performance measures that do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS Accounting Standards. These measures may differ from those used by, and may not be comparable to such measures as reported by, other issuers. The Company believes that these measures are commonly used by certain investors, in conjunction with conventional IFRS Accounting Standards measures, to enhance their understanding of the Company’s performance. These measures have been derived from the Company’s financial statements and applied on a consistent basis. The following tables below provide a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable IFRS Accounting Standards measures.
Total operating cost and site operating cost, net of by-product credit
Total operating cost includes all costs absorbed into inventory, as well as transportation costs and insurance recoverable. Site operating cost is calculated by removing net changes in inventory, depletion and amortization, insurance recoverable, and transportation costs from cost of sales. Site operating cost, net of by-product credit is calculated by subtracting by-product credits from site operating cost. Site operating cost, net of by-product credit per pound is calculated by dividing the aggregate of the applicable costs by pounds of copper produced. Total operating cost per pound is the sum of site operating costs, net of by-product credits and off-property costs divided by pounds of copper produced. By-product credit is calculated based on actual sales of molybdenum (net of treatment costs), silver and gold during the period divided by the total pounds of copper produced during the period. These measures are calculated on a consistent basis for the periods presented.
Non-GAAP Performance Measures - Continued
Total site costs
Total site costs include site operating costs charged to cost of sales and mining costs capitalized to property, plant and equipment in the period. This measure is intended to capture total site operating costs incurred during the period calculated on a consistent basis for the periods presented.
Adjusted net income (loss) and Adjusted EPS
Adjusted net income (loss) removes the effect of the following transactions from net income (loss) as reported under IFRS Accounting Standards:
Management believes that these transactions do not reflect the underlying operating performance of the Company’s core mining business and are not necessarily indicative of future operating results. Furthermore, unrealized gains and losses on derivative instruments, changes in the fair value of financial instruments, and unrealized foreign currency gains and losses are not necessarily reflective of the underlying operating results for the periods presented.
Adjusted earnings per share (“Adjusted EPS”) is Adjusted net income attributable to common shareholders of the Company divided by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period.
Non-GAAP Performance Measures - Continued
Non-GAAP Performance Measures - Continued
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA”) is presented as a supplemental measure of the Company’s performance and ability to service debt. Adjusted EBITDA is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in the industry, many of which present adjusted EBITDA when reporting their results. Issuers of “high yield” securities also present adjusted EBITDA because investors, analysts and rating agencies considering it useful in measuring the ability of those issuers to meet debt service obligations.
Adjusted EBITDA represents net income before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, and also eliminates the impact of a number of transactions that are not considered indicative of ongoing operating performance. Certain items of expense are added back and certain items of income are deducted from net income that are not likely to recur or are not indicative of the Company’s underlying operating results for the reporting periods presented or for future operating performance and consist of:
Non-GAAP Performance Measures - Continued
Earnings from mining operations before depletion, amortization and non-recurring items
Earnings from mining operations before depletion, amortization and non-recurring items is earnings from mining operations with depletion and amortization, and any items that are not considered indicative of ongoing operating performance added back. The Company discloses this measure, which has been derived from the Company’s financial statements and applied on a consistent basis, to assist in understanding the results of the Company’s operations and financial position, and it is meant to provide further information about the financial results to investors.
Non-GAAP Performance Measures - Continued
Site operating costs per ton milled
The Company discloses this measure, which has been derived from the Company’s financial statements and applied on a consistent basis, to assist in understanding the Company’s site operations on a tons milled basis.
Technical Information
The technical information contained in this MD&A related to Florence Copper is based on the report titled “NI 43-101 Technical Report – Florence Copper Project, Pinal County, Arizona” issued on March 30, 2023 with an effective date of March 15, 2023, which is available on SEDAR+. The Florence 2023 Technical Report was prepared under the supervision of Richard Tremblay, P. Eng., MBA, Richard Weymark, P. Eng., MBA, and Robert Rotzinger, P. Eng. Mr. Tremblay is employed by the Company as Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Weymark is employed by the Company as Vice President, Engineering, and Mr. Rotzinger is employed by the Company as Vice President, Capital Projects. All three are Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43-101.
The technical information contained in this MD&A related to Yellowhead is based on the report titled “Technical Report Update on the Yellowhead Copper Project, British Columbia, Canada” issued on July 10, 2025 with an effective date of June 15, 2025, which is available on SEDAR+. The Yellowhead 2025 Technical Report was prepared under the supervision of Richard Weymark, P. Eng., MBA. Mr. Weymark is employed by the Company as Vice President, Engineering and is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.
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:
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.sedarplus.ca, including the “Risk Factors” included in our Annual Information Form.
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