Taseko Completes Gibraltar Mine Joint Venture With Japanese Consortium

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Apr 01, 2010, 08:30 ET

VANCOUVER, April 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX: TKO; NYSE Amex: TGB) ("Taseko" or the "Company") wishes to announce that the previously disclosed transaction to sell 25% of the Gibraltar Copper Mine to a Japanese Consortium (Sojitz Corporation - 50%, Dowa Metals & Mining Co., Ltd. - 25%, Furukawa Co., Ltd. - 25%) for approximately C$187 million closed on March 31, 2010. Taseko will continue to be the operator of Gibraltar. A portion of these proceeds has been used to prepay Taseko's US$50 million long-term Credit Facility provided by Credit Suisse and Investec.

Russell Hallbauer, President and CEO of Taseko commented, "I am very pleased to be entering into this long-term relationship with world-class partners - Sojitz, Dowa and Furukawa. Additionally, our favourable debt free balance sheet today will maximize our cash flow from Gibraltar, particularly in the current copper pricing environment. After the repayment of our credit facility, cash on hand today is approximately C$190 million. This cash secures a significant portion of the required capital to fund the construction of our wholly-owned Prosperity Gold-Copper Project."

        No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved of the
                 information contained in this news release.

                         Forward Looking Statements

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address intended future agreements, future production, reserve potential, exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include capital market conditions, commodities market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, lack of continuity of mineralization, completion of the mill upgrade on time estimated and at scheduled cost, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements. For more information on the Company, Investors should review the Company's annual Form 40-F filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or the Company's home jurisdiction filings at www.sedar.com.

SOURCE Taseko Mines Limited