I grew up the son of a rancher in Sonoita, Arizona. Besides learning the importance of a strong work ethic during those long, hot days caring for horses, cattle, and the land, my dad taught me the importance of small town values such as honesty. Today, I’m a hydrogeologist and environmental engineer for Florence Copper. While I didn’t follow the same path as my father, I retain the small town values he taught me.

A recent article in this paper regarding Florence Copper may have confused some of our long-time supporters and followers of the project because of quoted statements from a group calling themselves “Raging River Capital.” Let me put their remarks into context: Raging River is a small group of dissident shareholders of Florence Copper’s parent company, Taseko Mines. Raging River only recently began buying Taseko shares, and are now trying to take control of the company. Part of their strategy to gain control of Taseko is to cast doubt among Taseko’ s shareholders about Florence Copper.

Simply put, Raging River has ulterior motives. Their statements about Florence Copper contain scientific errors and disregard extensive third-party validation of the site’s hydrogeological conditions that make in-situ copper recovery (ISCR) feasible.

The Florence Copper Project is technically sound. Your water is protected – the science is clear on that. This is a well-studied mineral deposit that has ideal conditions for ISCR because of its shattered nature. The ISCR technique was successfully demonstrated at the site by another mining company nearly two decades ago.

Florence Copper is making great progress in both the state and federal permitting processes. We encourage the community to participate in ADEQ’s upcoming public hearing on May 19th regarding an amendment of our Temporary Aquifer Protection Permit. We also expect EPA to issue our final federal permit soon. Once both permits are issued and final, we can begin operating our ISCR Production Test Facility.

At Florence Copper, we strive to ensure that the public gets the facts about this project. You can read our response to Raging River’s claims at http://tasekomines.com/proxy-contest/shareholder-materials.com. Anyone can call us anytime for a detailed explanation of the technology or the project’s permitting status. We are committed to provide you with the facts about the project. The regulatory agencies and our own integrity won’t allow anything less than that.

Written by Dan Johnson, Vice President & General Manager of Florence Copper