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FY2013 Annual Report · Taseko Mines
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Annual Report 2013

A Canadian-based company, 
focused on operating and 
developing large scale mines

Atlin

Dease Lake

Fort Nelson

ALEY



Fort St. John

Stewart

Mackenzie

Prince Rupert

Smithers

HARMONY


Prince George 

Bella Coola

GIBRALTAR



Williams Lake

NEW PROSPERITY



Golden

Cache Creek

Kamloops

Kelowna

Cranbrook

Vancouver

Hope

0

0

100

200 Km    

100

200 Miles

Victoria

BC

Front Cover: Photo of the entrance to Gibraltar Mine, with historic 1970’s shovel displayed in the foreground.

GIBRALTAR MINE

Located in south-central British Columbia, 
near Williams Lake, Taseko’s 75% owned 
Gibraltar  Mine  is  the  cornerstone  of 
Taseko’s  growth  strategy. The  Company 
has  invested  ~$700  million  since  the 
mine  was  restarted  in  2005  to  expand 
and  modernize  the  operation,  which 
was  scheduled  for  demolition  when  the 
Company acquired it in 1999.

NEW PROSPERITY

A  project  that  holds  the  potential  to 
dramatically  increase  shareholder  value 
and  improve  the  economic  well-being  of 
local  communities.  Development  of  this 
large-scale  deposit  will  be  a  major  step 
towards transforming Taseko into a mid-
tier mining company.

ALEY

Located  in  northern  British  Columbia, 
Taseko’s  wholly  owned  Aley  project  is 
poised  to  create  long  term  shareholder 
value  and  support  the  growing  global 
niobium demand resulting from increased 
stainless steel production.

HARMONY

A  gold  project  on  British  Columbia’s 
longer-term 
west  coast,  providing  a 
development opportunity.

BRITISH COLUMBIAALASKAYear in Review

March 2013

Participation  and  Cooperation 
Agreement  finalized  between 
the  Gibraltar  Mine  and  the 
Williams Lake Indian Band

September 2013

Stuart McDonald joins Taseko 
as  Chief  Financial  Officer  of 
the Company

$77M

From Mining 
Operations

February 2014

2013  earnings  from  mining 
operations  before  depletion 
and  amortization  of  $77 
million  and  cash  flow  from 
operations  of  $68  million 
from  production 
(100%) 
of  121  million  pounds  of 
copper  and  1.5  million 
pounds of molybdenum

April 2013

First  concentrate  produced 
from Gibraltar concentrator #2

January 2014

PRODUCTION
(100% Basis)

2012
2013

Taseko 
announces  2013 
copper  production  (100%) 
of 121 million pounds, a 35% 
increase  over  that  achieved 
in  2012,  and  molybdenum 
production increased 10% to 
1.5 million pounds

Cu

88 M pounds

121 M pounds

Mo

1.3 M pounds

1.5 M pounds

April 2014

Record  quarterly  shipments 
announced; total sales of 40 
million  pounds  of  copper 
and  589  thousand  pounds 
of  molybdenum  from  the 
Gibraltar Mine

Gibraltar Mine Mill and Shops

20052014President’s Message 
to Shareholders

Russell E. Hallbauer

President and CEO

2013 was a challenging year for the mining industry around the world. Many companies experienced financing challenges, write downs, 
permitting delays, cost escalation and construction and capital cost overruns. In this climate, Taseko was able to grow production and 
sales, reduce our operating costs and increase cash flow.  

Increased production and decreased operating costs combined with a weakened Canadian dollar and a stable copper price resulted in 
a very good year for the Company. These four key elements are expected to remain in our favour throughout 2014 and contribute to 
another successful year. 

GIBRALTAR: A YEAR OF GROWTH  

In  March  of  2013,  Gibraltar  produced 
the  first  copper  concentrate  from  the 
$325  million  Gibraltar  Development 
Plan 3 (“GDP3”) project, following two 
years of construction and commissioning. 
Since the first concentrate was produced, 
we have successfully ramped-up the new 
facility  and  at  the  end  of  2013  it  was 
operating  at  a  steady-state  level.  With 
steady-state  production  achieved,  the 
operations teams have been able to focus 
on incrementally optimizing throughput 
rates and copper recoveries. 

150

200

250

300

100

I  know  we  have  spoken  about  this  on  a 
few  occasions:  about  how  we  completed 
this  major  project  on-time  and  on 
budget.  I  believe  the  significance  of 

50

0

150

of  reasons,  including:  the  jurisdiction 
in  which  we  operate,  access  to  a  skilled 
workforce  as  well  as  working  with  top 
notch  engineering  consulting  firms.  The 
main reason, however, is the quality of our 
internal  construction  management  team 
and their attention to detail. For the most 
part, we managed the entire project with 
our own employees, instead of relying on 
outside  consultant  and  contractors. This, 
to me, is what sets us apart from the rest.

The  benefits  of  the  expansion  and 
steady-state  production  are  apparent  in 
Taseko’s  2013  year  end  results.  During 
2013,  Gibraltar  processed  24.5  million 
tons  of  ore,  a  50%  increase  over  2012. 
Copper  production  for  2013  was  121 

120

90

60

30

0

mm C$

300

250

Gibraltar Revenues

$278

$290

$252

$254

this  achievement,  however,  has  been 
overlooked  by  many.  Around  the  world, 
Taseko  is  one  of  just  a  few  mining 
companies that have successfully delivered 
a  large-scale  project  on-time  and  on 
budget.  I  have  been  asked  many  times, 
how Taseko did this when so many others 
couldn’t.  I  believe  there  are  a  number 

200

150

100

50

0

million  pounds,  a  40%  increase  over 
$189
the  previous  year.  And  if  you  look  back 
further, we have tripled production since 
2006.  2013 was still a ramp up year, so 
there are further increases in production 
coming  in  2014  as  we  get  closer  to  full 
2011
2009
annual 
throughput  of 
concentrator 
approximately 31 million tons.

2013

2010

2012

Production Growth

Operating  costs  steadily  declined  in 
2013  as  production  levels  increased  and 
stabilized  at  the  higher  levels.  This  was 
the premise of our original investment in 
Gibraltar in 2006, to lower overall costs 
to  ensure  we  manage  our  way  through 
any  economic  cycle.  A  lower  copper 
price  in  2013  offset  the  operational 
improvements  in  terms  of  our  financial 
performance, and this resulted in a decline 
in  earnings  from  mining  operations  to 
$43  million.  Cash  flow  from  operating 
activities remained flat year-over-year at 
$68 million. By the end of 2013, our total 
operating costs had declined to US$2.14 
per pound of copper. 

Managing  a  mine  expansion 
is  a 
challenging initiative at the best of times. 
Even  more  difficult  is  undertaking  such 
an  extensive  project  while  continuing 
operations.  Up  until  December  2012, 
this  has  been  the  reality  at  Gibraltar. 
There  is  no  doubt,  that  we  have  not 
been  as  efficient  as  we  would  be  just 
operating at steady-state. There has been 
a  cost  associated  with  the  three  phases 
of  expansion.  But  now  the  construction 
projects are behind us, we can now focus 
on the operational improvements that we 
know  will  positively  affect  our  ongoing 
cost of production.

Gibraltar Copper Production

mm lbs

150

120

90

60

30

0

17

75

70

21

62

22

67

30

91

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Taseko

Cariboo (JV Partner)

Gibraltar  processed  24.5  million  tons  of 
ore,  a  50%  increase  over  2012.  Copper 
production for 2013 was 121 million pounds, 
a 40% increase over the previous year. 

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

150

120

90

60

30

0

Financial Growth

From a financial perspective, the Company 
had  a  strong  year,  with  the  successes 
realized in the second half of the year. 

Taseko revenues for 2013 on our 75% of 
Gibraltar  production  were  $290  million 
from  the  sale  of  85.4  million  pounds 
of  copper  and  900  thousand  pounds  of 
molybdenum, 27% higher than in 2012. 

Annual earnings from mining operations 
before  depletion  and  amortization  were 
$77 million, and although this was down 
slightly from the previous year, the fourth 
quarter saw a significant step change as a 
result of steady state production.   

Gibraltar Revenues

New Prosperity

mm C$

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

$278

$290

$252

$254

$189

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

GROWTH  PIPELINE:  ALEY  & 
NEW PROSPERITY

Aley 

Taseko’s  100%  owned  Aley  Niobium 
Project, 
in  northern  British 
Columbia, continues to be a focus of the 
Company. 

located 

lies 

Given the limited technical information 
on  niobium,  our  challenge 
in 
achieving  the  targeted  recovery  levels  of 
50%.  In  2013  significant  progress  was 
made on the metallurgical test work and 
we  were  able  to  finalize  a  process  flow 
sheet,  achieving  recovery  levels  of  35%, 
short of our goal.   

In  early  2014,  we  had  a  breakthrough 
with  the  metallurgy  and  a  simplified 
flow sheet allowing higher recovery rates.  
Progress  has  been  made  in  updating 
the process to reflect this and we expect 
a  NI  43-101  compliant  reserve  to  be 
completed shortly. 

In  addition,  the  team  will  continue  to 
advance  construction  engineering  and 
environmental studies throughout 2014. 

30

91

2013

Gibraltar Copper Production

0

67

22

70

21

62

90

60

30

150

120

2012

2011

Taseko

Gold-Copper 

In  2013,  Taseko’s  wholly-owned  New 
mm lbs
Prosperity 
Project 
underwent  a  Canadian  Environmental 
Assessment  Review  Panel.  The  Federal 
Government  appointed  a  three-member 
17
independent panel to review the project, 
75
conduct  public  hearings  and  write  a 
report  to  be  submitted  to  the  Canadian 
Minister of Environment. 
2009

2010
After  30  days  of  public  hearings,  a  323 
Cariboo (JV Partner)
page  report  was  written  and  submitted 
to  Minister  Aglukkaq,  the  Minister  of 
Environment. The  panel  found  that  the 
proposed  project  is  not  likely  to  cause 
significant adverse environmental effects 
in respect of 33 different areas.  However, 
the  panel  did  find  likely  significant 
environmental effects on the water quality 
of Fish Lake, on fish and fish habitat in 
Fish  Lake,  on  current  use  of  lands  and 
resources  for  traditional  purposes  by 
certain  Aboriginal  groups,  and  on  their 
cultural heritage. 

In November, one of the lead engineering 
consultants  on  New  Prosperity,  Knight 
Piesold,  advised  Taseko  that  Natural 
Resources  Canada  (NRCan)  used  the 
wrong design in their analysis of seepage 
rates from the tailings storage facility and 
that the Review Panel subsequently relied 
on  that  incorrect  analysis  to  reach  their 
findings. We  made  multiple  attempts  to 
bring this serious error to the attention of 
Minister Aglukkaq for her consideration; 
however,  it  appears  our  efforts  were 
unsuccessful.  

In light of these extraordinary circumstances 
Taseko initiated a Federal Judicial Review 
in December 2013 seeking a declaration 
from the court that certain panel findings 

are invalid and are quashed or set aside, 
and  that  the  Panel  failed  to  observe 
principles  of  procedural  fairness  in  its 
conduct of the public hearing process. 

On February 27, 2014 Minister Aglukkaq 
announced she accepted the Panel report 
and its findings and that the Government 
of  Canada  would  therefore  not  be 
the  Federal  Authorizations 
granting 
necessary for the project to proceed.  

Consistent  with  our  concerns  with 
both  the  process  and  the  Panel  report, 
Taseko filed a second Judicial Review in 
March  2014  asking  the  court  to  quash 
the  Minister’s  decisions  and  that  of  the 
Governor in Council. 

We  maintain  that  the  Federal  Review 
Panel  failed  in  their  duty  to  deliver  a 
fair  process  and  the  consequence  of 
their  failure  resulted  in  the  Minister  of 
Environment  and  Governor  in  Council 
making the wrong decision.   

the  Company, 

While 
along  with 
its  employees  and  shareholders,  are 
extremely disappointed by this outcome, 
we remain committed to New Prosperity 
and will continue to take whatever steps 
necessary to protect the value of this asset. 

With  New  Prosperity  facing  a  longer 
time  horizon  to  potential  development, 
the Company will now review its growth 
strategy  with  an  eye  to  more  near-
term  opportunities.  We  are  fortunate 
to  have  such  a  great  cornerstone  asset 
in  Gibraltar  which  provides  long  term 
stability and affords us the ability to act 
quickly when those opportunities knock.  
We  will  continue  to  maximize  returns 
from Gibraltar for just such a purpose.

The combined 
medical aid and 
lost time incident 
frequency rate has 
steadily improved 
since restarting the 
mine and in 2013 
was reduced by 
nearly 60% over 2006. 

OUR PROMISE 

In  addition  to  our  commitment  of  advancing  of  our  Company’s  assets,  we  are  also 
committed to our workforce, the environment, and the communities in which we operate.

Employees

In order to grow the company and achieve our collective potential, we are committed to 
our employees’ health and safety, skills and knowledge, and ensuring a passionate and 
dedicated work environment. 

Safety continues to be an important priority at Taseko and we work hard to ensure that 
a culture of safety permeates the workplace.  The combined medical aid and lost time 
incident frequency rate has steadily improved since restarting the mine and in 2013 was 
reduced by nearly 60% over 2006. 

Environmental Stewardship

As members of The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) and the Mining Association of 
British Columbia, we are committed to working towards best management practice standards, 
known as Towards Sustainable Mining, a comprehensive benchmark for the industry.

Towards  Sustainable  Mining  is  designed  to  improve  the  industry’s  performance  and 
practices  in  environmental,  social  and  economic  aspects  in  6  key  areas,  one  of  which 
is biological diversity. Towards Sustainable Mining’s Guiding Principles for biological 
diversity includes the integration of biological conservation, including respect for critical 
habitat, into mine, land use and reclamation planning.

As  a  company,  we  strive  to  positively  contribute  to  the  conservation  of  biological 
diversity through all stages of the mining life cycle.

Interesting 2013 Environmental Facts: 

21.6 Giga watt hours (GWh) was saved which is equivalent to $1,589,760, all due to 
the upgrades put in place with respect to new energy efficient systems.

222,000 liters of oil were recycled and 19,475 Liters of Grease/Oil Products were 
recycled.

$1,142.43 was donated to local teams and clubs from the cans and bottles recycling 
program at Gibraltar. 

Gibraltar’s Komatsu 930E fleet (300 ton haul trucks) was upgraded with Cummins 
engines to the Tier 2 engine (improved emissions controls) with 3 units changed out 
during 2013 and the last truck before April 2014, thus saving 219,331 litres of diesel 
and reducing emissions by 599,000 kg of greenhouse gas CO2 equivalent per year.

THANK YOU

I’d like to thank Mr. Wayne Kirk for his service on the Taseko Board since 2004.  This 
year, Mr. Kirk will not be standing for re-election. We appreciate his hard work and wish 
him good luck in his future endeavors.  

In  addition,  I  would  like  to  thank  all  our  stakeholders  for  persevering  through  these 
challenging times and for their continued support of Taseko and its management team. 
Although  the  Company  experienced  setbacks,  specifically  in  the  decision  from  the 
Federal Government regarding New Prosperity, I remain very excited about the near-
term prospects for Taseko.    

Kind regards, 

Russell E. Hallbauer
President and Chief Executive Officer

Two-Year Financial Highlights

Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Cdn$ in thousands)

ASSETS

Current Assets

Cash and Equivalents

Accounts Receivable

Other Financial Assets

Inventories

Current Tax Receivables

Prepaids

Other Financial Assets

Property, Plant and Equipment

Prepaids

Other Receivable

LIABILITIES

Current Liabilities

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2012

$        82,865

$        134,995 

4,532

69,729

47,174

18,284

6,354

28,966

29,865

27,450

2,309

5,123

228,938

228,708

38,272

678,580

10,543

13,895

102,737

647,542

4,500

12,961

 $        970,228 

$        996,448

Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities

$          26,864 

$          42,938

Current Portion of Long-term Debt

Interest Payable

Other Financial Liabilities

Long-Term Debt

Other Financial Liabilities

Provision for Environmental Rehabilitation

Deferred Tax Liabilities

EQUITY

Share Capital

Contributed Surplus

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income 
(Loss)  (“AOCI”)

Retained Earnings (Deficit)

22,625

3,435

63,985

116,909

259,515

565

69,673

97,350

18,067

3,213

10,995

75,213

234,793

57,862

106,517

76,482

 $        544,012

 $        550,867

372,274

38,507

4,943

10,492

426,216

368,128

37,487

(5,365)

45,331

445,581

 $        970,228 

 $        996,448

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income 
(Cdn$ in thousands, except per share amounts) 
Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2012

Revenue

Cost of Sales

 $      290,056 

$      253,607

Production Costs

Depletion and Amortization

(213,056)

(34,067)

(172,267)

 (21,026) 

Earnings from Mining Operations

$        42,933

$        60,314

General and Administrative

Exploration and Evaluation

Other Operating Income (Expenses)

Write-down of Marketable Securities

Income (Loss) before Financing Costs 
and Income Taxes

Finance Expenses

Finance Income

Foreign Exchange Gain (Loss)

Earnings before Income Taxes

Income Tax Recovery (Expense)

(16,236)

(10,294)

(2,880)

(13,984)

(19,084)

(17,807)

(29,158)

-

(461)

(5,735)

(25,399)

6,214

(12,534)

(32,180)

(2,659)

(14,211)

12,092

(701)

(8,555)

(584)

Net Income (Loss) for the Year

$     (34,839)

$        (9,139)

Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Available-
for-sale Financial Assets, Net of Tax

Reclassification for Permanent 
Impairment on Available for Sale 
Financial Assets, Included in the Net Loss

Reclassification of Realized Loss (Gain) 
on Available for Sale Financial Assets

Total Comprehensive Income (Loss) 
for the Year

Total Other Comprehensive Income 
for the Year

Earnings Per Share

  Basic

  Diluted

Weighted-Average Shares Outstanding

  Basic

  Diluted

2,095

(2,726)

8,213

-

-

(1,241)

$        10,308

$        (3,967)

$     (24,531)

$      (13,106)

(0.18)

(0.18)

192,222

192,222

(0.05)

(0.05)

192,599

192,599

Mineral Reserves and Resources

(As at December 31, 2013)

GIBRALTAR

Category
(@ 0.20% Cu Cut-Off 1)

Size M 
Tons

Grade

Recoverable Metal

Contained Metal

Cu (%)

Mo (%)

Cu (B lbs)

Cu (B lbs)

P & P Reserves

M & I Resources

752

900

0.300

0.300

0.008

0.008

4.0

-

4.5

5.1

1 The resource and reserve estimation was completed by Gibraltar mine staff under the supervision of Scott Jones, P.Eng., Vice President,  
Engineering and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.  Mr. Jones has verified the methods used to determine grade and 
tonnage in the geological model, reviewed the long range mine plan, and directed the updated economic evaluation. The estimates used 
long term metal prices of US$2.25lb for copper and US$14.00/lb for molybdenum and a foreign exchange of US$0.85/C$1.00. Reserves 
and Resources were updated as of December 31, 2013.

NEW PROSPERITY

Category 
(@ C$5.50 NSR/t Cut-Off 1)

Size M 
Tonnes

Grade

Recoverable Metal

Contained Metal

Au (g/t)

Cu (%)

Au (M oz) Cu (B lb)         Au (M oz) Cu (B lb)

P & P Reserves

M & I Resources

Total

830

181

1,011

0.41

0.40

0.41

0.23

0.30

0.24

7.7

3.6

-

-

-

-

11.0

2.3

13.3

4.2

1.1

5.3

1 The mineral resource and reserve estimations were completed by Taseko staff under the supervision of Scott Jones, P.Eng., Vice-President, 
Engineering and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Jones has verified the methods used to determine grade and 
tonnage in the geological model, reviewed the long range mine plan, and directed the updated economic evaluation. The estimates for the 
reserves used long term metal prices of US$1.65/lb for copper and US$650/oz for gold and a foreign exchange of C$0.82 per US dollar.

ALEY

Category
(@ 0.20% Nb2O5 Cut-Off 1)

Size M 
Tonnes

Grade

Contained Metal

Nb2O5 (%)

Nb (M kgs)

M & I Resources

285

0.37

739

1 The 0.20% Nb2O5 cut-off assumes a niobium price of US$50/kilogram and a 50% process recovery rate. 
G & A, processing and ore mining costs were assumed to be US$30/tonne milled plus waste mining costs 
of US$2.00/tonne. A 45° pit wall slope was generated to constrain the resource within the block model.
The resource estimate was prepared by Ronald G. Simpson, P.Geo. with Geosim Services Inc., a Qualified 
Person independent of Taseko. 

Corporate Information

Head Office

15th Floor - 1040 West Georgia St.
Vancouver, BC V6E 4H1

Toll Free: (877) 441-4533
Main Phone: (778) 373-4533
Facsimile: (778) 373-4534
Website

tasekomines.com
Email

investor@tasekomines.com
Transfer Agent

Computershare Investor Services Inc.
3rd Floor, 510 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC Canada V6C 3B9 
Annual General Meeting

June 11th, 2014 1:00 pm
Metropolitan Hotel
Vancouver BC Canada

Shares Listed

TSX: TKO       

NYSE MKT: TGB
Senior Officers

Russell Hallbauer  I  President, CEO and Director 
Ron Thiessen  I  Chairman 
John McManus  I  Chief Operating Officer 
Stuart McDonald  I  Chief Financial Officer
David Rouleau  I  Vice President, Mining Operations 
Brian Battison  I  Vice President, Corporate Affairs 
Scott Jones  I  Vice President, Engineering 
Rob Rotzinger  I  Vice President Capital Projects
Brian Bergot  I  Vice President, Investor Relations

Authentically 
Ambitious