Overview
Stage | Construction |
Mine Type | In-Situ |
Commodities |
|
Mining Method |
|
Production Start | ... |
Mine Life | 22 years (as of Jan 1, 2023) |
Taseko’s wholly-owned Florence Copper is expected to enter commercial production in 2025 as one of the most efficient copper producers in the world.
Florence Copper is an in-situ copper recovery (ISCR) project that will produce LME Grade A copper metal on-site with an unmatched energy, water, and GHG intensity per pound of copper produced.
In September, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued the Final Underground Injection Control Permit for the Florence Copper Project, 2023.
At the beginning of 2024, site activities focused on site preparations, earthworks, and civil work for the commercial wellfield and the hiring of additional management and site personnel positions for the construction and operations teams.
The Taseko recently executed a fixed-price contract with the general contractor for construction of the SX/EW plant and associated surface infrastructure which is scheduled to commence in the second quarter of 2024. |
Source:
p. 15,16
Taseko owns 100% of Curis Holdings (Canada) Ltd., which owns 100% of Florence Holdings Inc., which owns 100% of Florence Copper Holdings Inc., which owns 99% of Florence Copper LLC and 100% of FC-ISR Holdings Inc. (which holds the remaining 1% of Florence Copper LLC).
Contractors
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Summary:
Deposit Types
The mineral deposit type at the FCP site is a Laramide-age porphyry copper deposit consisting of a large core of copper sulfide mineralization underlying a zone of copper oxide mineralization. The central portion of the deposit is overlain by approximately 400 feet of flat-lying conglomerate and alluvial material that contains a fine-grained silt and clay interbed. The oxide and sulfide zones are separated from one another by a transition zone of mixed oxide-supergene sulfide ranging from 0 to 55 feet in thickness. The depth and grade of the sulfide zone renders it currently uneconomic to mine by conventional mining methods. The impermeability of the rocks and insoluble mineralization of the sulfide zone renders it uneconomic for ISCR methods.
Approximately 71% of the oxide mineralization is hosted by a Precambrian quartz monzonite and 26% by Tertiary granodiorite porphyry. The remaining igneous rocks associated with the deposit are Precambrian diabase and Tertiary andesite, latite, dacite, basalt, and aplite. The deposit occurs in a structural horst block, which is bounded on the east and west by grabens and is controlled by normal faults trending north to northwest.
Mineralized Zones
The mineralized zones consist of an iron-enriched leached cap, an oxide zone, and an underlying sulfide zone. In most instances, the transition from the copper silicates and oxides to the sulfide zone is quite abrupt. A majority of the copper oxide ........
Summary:
The extraction method proposed for the Florence Copper Project is in-situ copper recovery (ISCR). ISCR extracts copper by injecting a weak sulfuric acid solution called raffinate through targeted portions of the mineral deposit using an array of injection wells. The raffinate passes through natural fractures and voids in the deposit and dissolves the copper mineralization. The copper laden solution, known as pregnant leach solution (PLS), is collected in recovery wells where it is pumped to the surface for processing. Copper is extracted from the PLS using solvent extraction and electrowinning techniques (SX/EW) producing a saleable copper cathode product and raffinate for recirculating into the well field. Following the copper extraction sequence, the depleted reserve areas are rinsed to remove the remaining process solutions and restore ground water quality to prescribed standards. The ISCR stages are scheduled progressively allowing the first areas extracted to be rinsed and closed while other areas of the well field are under development.
In-situ recovery methods have been used successfully in the mineral extraction industry for over 50 years as an alternative to open pit or underground mining methods for mineral deposits with amenable geological and hydrological properties. In-situ recovery does not require physically handling the mineralized material, overburden, or non-mineralized rock and, consequently, this method does not require many of the activities ty ........
Flow Sheet:
Summary:
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Source:
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Projected Production:
Commodity | Units | LOM |
Copper
|
M lbs
| 1,524 |
All production numbers are expressed as cathode.
Operational Metrics:
Metrics | |
Annual production capacity
| ...... |
* According to 2023 study.
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Reserves at December 31, 2022:
Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves are reported without a cut-off grade to reflect the nature of the ISCR extraction method proposed.
Mineral Resources are reported inclusive of Mineral Reserves.
Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
Proven
|
258 M tons
|
Copper
|
0.35 %
|
1,812 M lbs
|
Probable
|
63 M tons
|
Copper
|
0.4 %
|
503 M lbs
|
Proven & Probable
|
320 M tons
|
Copper
|
0.36 %
|
2,316 M lbs
|
Measured
|
292 M tons
|
Copper
|
0.34 %
|
1,997 M lbs
|
Indicated
|
71 M tons
|
Copper
|
0.39 %
|
552 M lbs
|
Measured & Indicated
|
363 M tons
|
Copper
|
0.35 %
|
2,549 M lbs
|
Inferred
|
42 M tons
|
Copper
|
0.32 %
|
266 M lbs
|
Corporate Filings & Presentations:
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