Taseko Receives Long-Term Mining Lease for its Prosperity Gold-Copper Project

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Jun 09, 2010, 01:07 ET

VANCOUVER, June 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX: TKO; NYSE Amex: TGB) ("Taseko" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the British Columbia Provincial Government has granted Taseko a long-term, renewable, 25-year mining lease for the Prosperity gold-copper project. The mining lease provides the Company with mineral tenure security.

Russell Hallbauer, President and CEO of Taseko commented, "Converting the Prosperity mineral claims to a mining lease is another important milestone in the development of our Prosperity Project and a further endorsement by the British Columbia Government. The mining lease represents a direct interest in land and is the highest attainable form of mineral ownership rights associated with publicly-owned crown land in British Columbia. The mining lease also provides Taseko with the right to use the land for mining purposes."

In January of this year, the British Columbia Government awarded Taseko an Environmental Assessment Certificate for Prosperity. In May, the Company announced a gold stream finance agreement with Franco Nevada which, when combined with the proceeds generated by the sale of 25% of Gibraltar to a Japanese consortium and future Gibraltar cash flow, will give Taseko approximately 80% of the funds required to build Prosperity.

Securing a mining lease is one of the conditions stipulated in the agreement with Franco Nevada. With the issuance of this long-term lease by the Government, an important condition of that agreement has now been met.

The Company has been actively preparing and pursuing other permit applications and requirements, amongst them being the provincial Mines Act Permit.

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

                CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This document contains "forward-looking statements" that were based on Taseko's expectations, estimates and projections as of the dates as of which those statements were made. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "outlook", "anticipate", "project", "target", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "should" and similar expressions.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These included but are not limited to:

    -  uncertainties and costs related to the Company's exploration and
       development activities, such as those associated with continuity of
       mineralization or determining whether mineral resources or reserves
       exist on a property;
    -  uncertainties related to the accuracy of our estimates of mineral
       reserves, mineral resources, production rates and timing of
       production, future production and future cash and total costs of
       production and milling;
    -  uncertainties related to feasibility studies that provide estimates of
       expected or anticipated costs, expenditures and economic returns from
       a mining project;
    -  uncertainties related to our ability to complete the mill upgrade on
       time estimated and at the scheduled cost;
    -  uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary licenses
       permits for development projects and project delays due to third party
       opposition;
    -  uncertainties related to unexpected judicial or regulatory
       proceedings;
    -  changes in, and the effects of, the laws, regulations and government
       policies affecting our exploration and development activities and
       mining operations, particularly laws, regulations and policies;
    -  changes in general economic conditions, the financial markets and in
       the demand and market price for copper, gold and other minerals and
       commodities, such as diesel fuel, steel, concrete, electricity and
       other forms of energy, mining equipment, and fluctuations in exchange
       rates, particularly with respect to the value of the U.S. dollar and
       Canadian dollar, and the continued availability of capital and
       financing;
    -  the effects of forward selling instruments to protect against
       fluctuations in copper prices and exchange rate movements and the
       risks of counterparty defaults, and mark to market risk;
    -  the risk of inadequate insurance or inability to obtain insurance to
       cover mining risks;
    -  the risk of loss of key employees; the risk of changes in accounting
       policies and methods we use to report our financial condition,
       including uncertainties associated with critical accounting
       assumptions and estimates;
    -  environmental issues and liabilities associated with mining including
       processing and stock piling ore; and
    -  labour strikes, work stoppages, or other interruptions to, or
       difficulties in, the employment of labour in markets in which we
       operate mines, or environmental hazards, industrial accidents or other
       events or occurrences, including third party interference that
       interrupt the production of minerals in our mines.

For further information on Taseko, investors should review the Company's annual Form 40-F filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission www.sec.com and home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

SOURCE Taseko Mines Limited