My research suggests that the company has a significant mine, Gibraltar, in BC and a copper in-situ mine under construction in Florence, Arizona which should be operational within 3 months. It is my understanding that a major pilot project at the Florence mine has been very successful using the in-situ process. In this process the ore body was drilled and fraced, a low ph solution is pumped down the drill holes dissolving the copper and then pumped back to the surface. The copper retrieved from the solution was of cathode grade. No crushing or smelting.
There was considerable public support from the environmental community when this pilot project was completed.
Please correct any errors in my comments/statements as the results of this process appear to be too good to be true.
With appreciation,
Ed
The review in the question notes is accurate. The Florence mine in Arizona is indeed an in-situ copper recovery (ISCR) operation, meaning instead of conventional open-pit or underground mining, Taseko Mines Limited injects a diluted, acidic solution into a fractured ore body to dissolve the copper underground. The copper-laden solution is then pumped to the surface, and the company uses a solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX/EW) process to produce cathode-grade copper directly on site. No ore is crushed or smelted, and there are no tailings or waste rock, resulting in a much smaller surface footprint, sharply reduced water consumption, and much lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional mining methods. Your statement regarding no crushing or smelting, cathode-grade copper output, and minimal environmental impact is fully supported by independent and company sources. The pilot project was highly successful, and regulatory bodies as well as the local community and environmental groups offered strong support, due in part to the technology’s limited surface disturbance and aquifer protection measures. The company is on schedule to produce its first commercial copper cathode within the next three months. The stock has done well, and if similar results can be achieved at scale investors will continue to take interest in the stock, we believe. Sometimes, though, scale does not work as well as expected.