The Florence Copper Project is unique opportunity; It is an opportunity for mineral extraction with minimal environmental impact.
Using a process called in-situ copper recovery, the copper is extracted using a water-based solution. This method requires no open pit, no tunneling, no blasting, no waste dumps, and no large equipment that is typically associated with mining activity. The in-situ process is energy efficient, uses significantly less water, and produces far less carbon dioxide emissions and waste per pound of copper produced that convention mining operations
Since acquiring Florence Copper in November 2014, Taseko has advanced the Project through the permitting, construction, and operating phase of the Phase 1 Production Test Facility (PTF).
The PTF, a $25 million test facility, was designed to prove the integrity of the in-situ copper recovery process and provide Taseko with important technical information.
The 24 well facility and the SX/EW plant commenced operations in December 2018. Over the course of 18 months, Taseko evaluated the operational data, confirmed project economics, and demonstrated the ability to produce high-quality copper cathode with stringent environmental guidelines.
Successfully operating the Phase 1 wellfield and SX/EW plant has been major milestone in advancing and realizing the full value of the Project.
On March 30, 2023, Taseko announced a new technical report entitled “NI 43-101 Technical Report – Florence Copper Project, Pinal County, Arizona”
The technical report was prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and incorporates updated capital and operating costs for the commercial production facility and refinements made to the operating models, based on the Production Test Facility (“PTF”) results.
Project Highlights:
The report has been prepared for Taseko Mines Limited, a producing issuer, under the supervision of Richard Tremblay, P.Eng., MBA, Richard Weymark, P.Eng., MBA, and Robert Rotzinger, P.Eng. Mr. Tremblay is employed by the Company as Sr. Vice President Operations, Mr. Weymark is Vice President Engineering and Robert Rotzinger is Vice President Capital Projects. All three are “Qualified Persons” as defined in National Instrument 43–101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43–101”).
Mr. Tremblay, Mr. Weymark and Mr. Rotzinger have reviewed and approved the technical content of this webpage.
September 2017
In September 2017, with all final permits in place, Taseko announced that it’s Board of Directors approved the construction of the Florence Copper Phase 1 in-situ copper recovery facility.
Construction of Phase 1 facility, which includes 24 injection, recovery and monitoring wells and an SX/EW plant, was completed in the third quarter 2018, on-time and on budget.
December 2018
In December 2018, wellfield operations commenced and injection and recovery systems were fully ramped-up within a short timeframe (reference news release). Following an initial leaching period, in December 2018, leach solutions were flowing at expected levels and copper was detected in solutions recovered from process sample wells.
April 2019
In April 2019, the first harvest of 3,700 pounds of copper cathode (32 sheets x 117 pounds), was made and the copper cathode was assayed at higher than 99.9% copper (reference news release).
August 2020
Concurrent with Phase 1 test facility operations, the Company advanced the permit amendment process to transition to commercial production. In August 2020, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality issued the draft Aquifer Protection Permit (APP) for the commercial production facility. The APP is one of two key permits required to advance the project to commercial production.
For the latest photos and video of the project , visit Florence Copper – Photos & Videos
