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Taseko Mines

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FY2020 Annual Report · Taseko Mines
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MAY 2021

Letter to Shareholders
from CEO & Director Russell Hallbauer

Dear Shareholders, 

There is no question about it, 2020 will be a year no one will forget.  

The effects of COVID-19 were felt worldwide with impacts that could 
not have been predicted at the onset of 2020; however, individuals and 
companies found ways to adapt and Taseko was no different. We kept 
our operations running and our employees working and safe.  

TASEKO’S ADVANTAGE  

It is the experience of Taseko’s management team, as well as the 
dedication and commitment of our employees, that has resulted 
in exceptional performance in regards to, safety, environmental, 
Indigenous partnerships, and production.  

BUILDING A MULTI-ASSET COPPER PRODUCER IN THE WORLD’S TOP MINING JURISDICTIONS

Strong Copper 
Fundamentals

Commitment to Strong 
Environmental, Social & 
Governance Performance  

Proven Team of Mine 
Builders & Operators

Florence Copper
A Near-Term, High Return 
Copper Project

Gibraltar
A Large-Scale Copper Mine 
with Proven Through-the-Cycle 
Sustainability

Investment
Highlights 

Attractive 
Jurisdictions

Conservative 
Financial Profile

TASEKO MINES LIMITED     LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS

MAY 2021

2020 GIBRALTAR 
PRODUCTION HIGHLIGHTS

Copper Production

123

Million
Pounds

Molybdenum Production

2.3

Million
Pounds

GIBRALTAR + FLORENCE 
COPPER ESTIMATED
GHG EMISSIONS

CO2e Intensity

1.5 

Tonnes CO2e/t 
Copper Equivalent

GIBRALTAR MINE  

At Gibraltar, our number one priority remains the safety of our 
employees. While we faced the challenges of COVID-19, we maintained 
our outstanding safety performance and kept operations running. 
Gibraltar had zero loss time incidents, zero days lost, zero loss 
time severity, and zero loss time frequency – this is a remarkable 
accomplishment. 

In addition, in September 2020, Gibraltar’s Environmental team was 
recognized by the British Columbia Technical and Research Committee 
on Reclamation for their outstanding work in mine reclamation and 
Indigenous collaboration.  

And just as important to note, 123 million pounds of copper and 2.3 
million pounds of molybdenum were produced at Gibraltar. For 2021, 
we expect a slight increase in production to 125 million pounds of 
copper. 

FLORENCE COPPER PROJECT

Florence Copper is the next exciting project for our Company. 

When operations commence, Taseko will have one of the smallest 
environmental footprints of any copper mining company in the world. 
With the addition of Florence Copper, the Company’s combined GHG 
emissions intensity will drop lower in the first quartile of global copper 
producers to an estimated 1.5 tonnes of CO2e per tonne of copper 
equivalent (based on an analysis by Skarn Associates). 

Throughout 2020, Taseko continued to advance Florence through 
permitting. In December 2020, the state permit was issued and we 
expect to receive the federal permit from the EPA in the coming 
months.  

In conjunction with the permitting process, we completed a successful 
bond refinancing and upsizing to US$400 million, which will provide 
capital for development of the commercial production facility. With 
these advancements, Taseko has de-risked the project considerably and 
we look forward to commencing construction of the full scale facility in 
2021 and to be producing copper in 2023.  

  
TASEKO MINES LIMITED     LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS

MAY 2021

FLORENCE COPPER TIMELINE

PTF development and construction starts (~US$25M)

Aiming to complete permitting in Q3 2021

Wellfield & SX/EW plant commissioned in Q3, 
operations commenced in Q4

Project financing

Construction

First cathode produced in April 2019

Permitting process for commercial 
scale production begins

First production 
from commercial 
facility  

2023

2018
1992-1996

2017

2019

2021

First Cathode Harvest 
(24 April 2019)

2020

Technical work results in 
significant improvement in 
project economics 

All necessary state and 
federal permits issued to 
build and operate the PTF  

Completed PTF    
production phase

Aquifer Protection     
Permit issued in   
December

YELLOWHEAD COPPER 
PROJECT TECHNICAL STUDY

Copper Reserve

820

Million
Tonnes

Copper Production

180

Million
Pounds / Year

Mine Life

25 Years

LONGER-TERM PROJECTS 

In January of 2020, we completed an updated technical study of our 
Yellowhead Copper Project. Our technical work resulted in a new 820 
million tonne reserve and improved economics. This is a great project, 
not too far from our Gibraltar Mine, which will produce 180 million 
pounds of copper annually over its 25 year mine life.  

Today, we are focusing on additional engineering work and 
engagement with local communities including the indigenous 
communities. Our plan is to advance Yellowhead through the 
environmental assessment process with the goal of having the project 
construction ready once Florence Copper has reached steady-state 
production.  

In regards to New Prosperity, the Tŝilhqot’in Nation and Taseko have 
made progress in establishing a constructive dialogue. In December 
2020 it was agreed to extend a standstill for a further year to continue 
this dialogue (see December 7, 2020 News Release: Taseko and the 
Tŝilhqot’in Nation Extend Standstill to Continue Dialogue). 

 
 
TASEKO MINES LIMITED     LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS

MAY 2021

THE COPPER MARKET 

The health pandemic brought great volatility to financial and 
commodity markets in 2020. Copper in particular, fell to US$2.10 per 
pound in March of 2020 but swiftly recovered and in 2021 reached a 
decade long high of over US$4.50 per pound.   

Amid resurging demand as the world recovers from the pandemic, 
trillions of dollars being invested to rebuild infrastructure as well as 
transitioning to a green economy, the outlook for copper is extremely 
bullish. Even with copper at a near all-time high price, there are 
indications and estimates for it to climb higher, driven by strong 
demand and a lack of new supply over the coming years. 

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE 

Our goal is to grow Taseko’s production base by developing our 
excellent pipeline of projects and we remain focused on copper 
production in stable political mining jurisdictions. We believe this 
approach will generate the best long-term returns for shareholders.  

THANK YOU 

Given the challenges associated with the global pandemic and the 
initial negative impact on economic markets, I believe our employees 
have proved their resiliency and accomplished a great deal over the 
past year. Our achievements were throughout our business – from 
operations, to safety and environment, to stakeholder relations. 

I’d like to thank all of our 700 employees for their hard work and 
dedication that made 2020 successful and I look forward to 2021! 

Russell Hallbauer
CEO & Director