Taseko Mines Limited, operators of McLeese Lake’s Gibraltar Mine, had a very good news announcement last week. At their first fiscal quarter of 2006 year mark, which actually ends on the calendar date of December 31st, 2005, the mine produced 13.4 million pounds of copper and 223,000 pounds of molybdenum.

This production produced after-tax earnings of $6.7 million, or $0.06 per share in this first quarter of the company’s 2006 fiscal year. Taseko Mines Limited had an operating profit of $8.1 million for the period.

Brian Bergot, the company’s Investment Relations officer, explained that the Taseko Mines Limited currently has three mining projects including Gibraltar Mines. The other two are the Prosperity Copper-Gold Project located west of Williams Lake near Fish Lake, and the Harmony Gold Project on Queen Charlotte Island. The company re-initiated feasibility and permitting work on its 100 percent owned Prosperity Copper-Gold Project, with the objective to advance the project toward a production decision.

The Gibraltar mine met its copper production forecast for the quarter and exceeded its molybdenum production forecast by 11 percent. The first-quarter financial report states revenues of $36.2 million and $5.1 million were realised from sales of copper and molybdenum. The average prices realised for sales were US$1.88 per pound for copper and US$22.45 per pound for molybdenum.

Copper production was 13.4 million pounds in concentrate, which translates to sales of 16.4 million pounds in 28,912 wet metric tonnes of concentrate.

Molybdenum production was 223,000 pounds in concentrate and sales were 196,000 pounds in 192 wet metric tonnes of concentrate.

A reserve update completed during the quarter resulted in a 30 percent increase in proven and probable reserves at Gibraltar, which was printed in the Taseko news release late last year.

A $2 million exploration drilling program is planned for Gibraltar in 2006 in order to more fully define the material adjacent to existing pits with the objective of further increasing the mineral reserves and therefore mine life. Drilling is scheduled to begin in March.

An engineering study has been commissioned to determine the optimum alternative for expanding mill capacity by approximately 25 percent.

The goal is to increase revenue and reduce operating costs by increasing metal production as a result of higher through-puts and metal recoveries. The study is to be completed in March. Taseko will re-assess the economics of constructing a copper refinery at the Gibraltar Mine site once the reserve and mill capacity studies are completed.

Taseko Mines Limited: Annual General Meeting, Wednesday, March 22, 2006
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