Taseko Announces Inferred Resource at Aley Niobium Project
VANCOUVER, Sept. 12, 2011 /CNW/ --
VANCOUVER, Sept. 12, 2011 /CNW/ - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX: TKO) (NYSE
Amex: TGB) ('Taseko' or the 'Company') announces an inferred resource
of 159 million tonnes grading 0.43% Nb(2)O(5) at the Company's wholly-owned Aley Niobium Project, approximately 130
km north of Mackenzie, B.C.
The resource estimate is based on drill data gathered from Taseko's 2010
drilling program, along with historical drill data. The data formed
the basis for the development of a geological model incorporating mine
engineering studies.
The inferred resource model does not incorporate information being
generated from the 2011 drilling and metallurgical programs now
underway.
Additional information gathered during the 2011 work program season will
be used to convert the inferred resources into a measured and indicated
reserve in 2012.
Russell Hallbauer, President and CEO of Taseko commented, 'We are very encouraged with the results of our ongoing evaluation
program on Aley. Our 2011 drill program and metallurgical testing
continues to support our belief that Aley will become a significant
Niobium producer in the near future. With 650 million kilograms of
contained Nb(2)O(5 )identified in our defined pit shell, we will be able to use our open pit
mining expertise to develop a low cost, long life mining operation once
final engineering is complete.
Over the past three months our exploration team has drilled a further 65
holes on the property and we are well advanced on all aspects of mine
and concentrator design. Additionally, we are fully engaged in
baseline environmental work as we prepare for completion of the
feasibility study in 2012.'
The in-pit inferred mineral resource for the Central Zone of the Aley
Deposit is summarized in the table below for a range of cutoff grades
with the base case of 0.2 % Nb(2)O(5) in boldface.
Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate
________________________________
| COG % | Tonnes | Grade % |
|Nb(2)O(5)| 000's | Nb(2)O(5) |
|_________|__________|___________|
| 0.10 | 187,743 | 0.39 |
|_________|__________|___________|
| 0.15 | 172,151 | 0.41 |
|_________|__________|___________|
| 0.20 | 158,892 | 0.43 |
|_________|__________|___________|
| 0.25 | 146,437 | 0.45 |
|_________|__________|___________|
| 0.30 | 127,481 | 0.47 |
|_________|__________|___________|
The 0.20% Nb(2)O(5) cut-off assumes a metal price of US$50.00/kg Nb with process recovery
of 50%. G & A, processing and ore mining costs were assumed to be
$30/tonne milled with waste mining costs of $1.50/tonne. A 45°wall
slope LG pit was generated to constrain the resource within the block
model. Detailed engineering studies will determine the optimal cut-off.
Niobium, in the form of ferro niobium (FeNb), is used as an alloying
element in steels and in the production of superalloys such as those
used in the automotive, aviation, pipeline and the power generation
sectors. While demand for ferro niobium is increasing, globally ferro
niobium is only currently produced from three mining and processing
facilities, two of which are located in Brazil and one in Quebec.
Sample preparation and analysis for the Aley project is done at
Inspectorate Laboratories in Richmond, BC. All samples are assayed for
(Nb205) by HF-HCl-H3PO4 digestion with an Inductively Coupled
Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) finish. As part of a comprehensive
Quality Control/Quality Assurance, one standard is inserted into the
sample stream in each group of 20 samples, as well as one or more field
blanks in each analytical batch. One sample in each group of 20 is a
duplicate, analysed by Inspectorate, and also by Acme Analytical
Laboratories in Vancouver.
The Resource Estimate was prepared by GeoSim Services Inc. of Vancouver,
Canada, utilizing analytical results from the 29 core holes drilled on
the Central Zone to date. Assays were composited in 6 metre down-hole
intervals. Grades were not capped as there was no significant outlier
population identified. Block grades were estimated by ordinary Kriging
in two passes. The first used an octant search with a minimum of 5
octants required to estimate a block in order to confine the largest
search ellipsoid to interpolated blocks. A second pass was used for
extrapolated block estimates and the anisotropic search distance was
limited to 90m or half the maximum variogram range.
The resource estimate was prepared by Ronald G. Simpson, P.Geo. with
Geosim Services Inc., a Qualified Person independent of Taseko, The
qualified person reviewed and approved the contents of this news
release.
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 include 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 our ability to complete the mill
upgrade on time estimated and at the scheduled cost;
-- 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.
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