Taseko Mines (TKO-T, TGB-X) is in the money.
The Vancouver-based junior announced that it was entering the big time agreeing to terms with Japanese based trader Sojitz.
The deal will see Sojitz gain a 25% stake in Taseko’s Gibraltar mine in south central B.C. – which is currently being expanded and modernized – by paying Taseko $180 million.
Taseko says it plans to use the new influx of money to fund another one of its projects in B.C. – the Prosperity gold and copper project.
Taseko currently has a 100% stake in Gibraltar, leaving it as the operator with a 75% interest in the mine after the deal with Sojitz goes through.
Taseko calls the deal “an important step” in the company’s evolution, as it will give it a key strategic alliance while confirming the value of Gibraltar.
Sojitz is a diversified trading company with interests in machinery, energy and metals, chemicals and consumer products.
Over the past two years Taseko has invested roughly $250 million on expanding and modernizing the Gibraltar.
By the end of 2010 it expects to be producing 115 million lbs of copper and 1.1 million lbs of molybdenum per year for 26 years.
Those impressive numbers are to be generated from an orebody with proven and probable reserves of 428 million tonnes grading 0.315% copper and 0.008% molybdenum for 2.7 billion lbs of recoverable copper.
As for its other key project in south central B.C., Prosperity, the company says the $180 represents a significant part the capital it needs to build a new mine there.
Prosperity hosts a large porphyry gold-copper deposit which Taseko completed a feasibility study on back in 2007.
The study estimated a 20 year mine life at a milling rate of 70,000 tonnes per day producing 247,000 oz. of gold and 108 million lbs of copper per year, with a low strip ratio of 0.8:1.
The project has proven and probable reserves of 487 million tonnes grading 0.43 grams gold and 0.22% copper
In Toronto on Nov. 30 the company’s shares shot up 13% or 40¢ to $3.60 on 3.84 million shares traded.
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