Prefeasibility for Fish Lake

As it continues to search for a buyer of its Fish Lake deposit near Williams Lake, B.C., Taseko Mines (TSE) has hired Kilborn Engineering Pacific to complete a prefeasibility study.

Minable reserves were last estimated at 960 million tons grading 0.23% copper and 0.0125 oz. gold per ton at a strip ratio of about 1.96-to-1. Taseko will operate the project until May, 1995, when management reverts back to Cominco (TSE) with Taseko retaining a 20% net profits interest. In the event Taseko can find a buyer, proceeds will be split on a scaled formula with Cominco receiving 40% to a maximum of $48 million. Taseko has about $7 million in working capital and 10.7 million shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis.