Taseko Reports $42 Million of Adj. EBITDA in Third Quarter

VANCOUVER, Oct. 26, 2017

VANCOUVER, Oct. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX: TKO; NYSE American: TGB) ("Taseko" or the "Company") reports the results for the three months ended September 30, 2017.

"The third quarter was another very good quarter for Taseko and despite being impacted by the wildfires in central British Columbia we still produced 35 million pounds of copper and generated $42 million of adjusted EBITDA*. Mine personnel did an excellent job of managing through the provincial state of emergency and widespread evacuation orders," highlighted Russell Hallbauer, President and CEO of Taseko. "Manpower levels at times were one quarter of normal levels which impacted mine sequencing and mill operations. Truck and rail shipments were also halted for an extended period which resulted in reduced sales volumes and an increase in copper concentrate inventory of approximately five million pounds, which reduced earnings for the quarter. We expect a significant reduction in concentrate inventory by year end."

Third Quarter 2017 Highlights

• Earnings from mining operations before depletion and amortization* were $45.1 million;
  
  
• Cash flow from operations was $37.1 million for the third quarter;
  
  
• Adjusted net income* for the third quarter was $13.4 million (or $0.06 per share) and net income was $20.1 million (or $0.09 per share);
  
  
• Site operating costs, net of by-product credits* were US$0.88 per pound produced, down 44% from the third quarter of 2016;
  
  
• The Gibraltar Mine produced 35.1 million pounds of copper and 0.4 million pounds of molybdenum (100% basis) at a total operating cost (C1)* of US$1.18 per pound;
  
  
• Total sales for the third quarter were 30.2 million pounds of copper and 0.4 million pounds of molybdenum;
  
  
• In July 2017, Gibraltar's mining and milling operations were impacted by wildfires in the Cariboo region which limited our employees' ability to travel to the mine site.  A temporary shutdown of rail service also affected our ability to get product to the port, and as a result sales volumes were lower than planned;
  
  
• On September 25, 2017, the Company announced that the Environmental Appeals Board of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") had issued an order denying any further review of the Underground Injection Control ("UIC") Permit granted in 2016 for Taseko's Florence Copper Project.  All necessary state and federal permits are now in place to build and operate the Production Test Facility ("PTF"), and the Company's board of directors has approved the construction of the PTF at an estimated cost of US$25 million; and
  
  
• The Company's cash balance at September 30, 2017 was $96 million.

"With Gibraltar operations once again stabilized after being impacted by wildfires in the third quarter, our focus is on Florence Copper and advancing one of the lowest capital intensity projects in the world towards commercial production," commented Mr. Hallbauer. "With receipt of final permits and construction progressing, we are excited about the prospects of producing copper in 2018."

"We have seen the copper price increase by nearly 50% since the lows of 2016 and believe the market is in the early stages of a major copper deficit. Given the long timelines to develop, permit, finance and construct a mine, there is no way that copper supply can quickly be increased to meet growing demand," continued Mr. Hallbauer. "With the ability to have Florence Copper in commercial production in 2020, we are ideally positioned to capitalize on a rapidly improving market. Additionally, with recent announcements by a number of major auto manufacturers regarding electric vehicles (EVs), some experts are now forecasting copper demand for EVs will far surpass previous estimates. Using up to 175 pounds of copper per car, which is approximately four times that of a conventional vehicle, plus the associated charging infrastructure, demand from this sector could prove to be very supportive for copper and other base metals much earlier than originally anticipated."