Vedanta to exclude base metals business from sweeping demerger
The group said it will consider the base metals business demerger at a later stage.
Canada’s Taseko Mines has seen a significant rise in gross profits this quarter compared with the last, going from $12.9 million to $19.5 million.
As announced earlier this month, the Canadian miner produced 30% more copper in Q3 than the previous quarter.
“Operationally, the third quarter results met our internal expectations,” CEO Russell Hallbauer noted in a statement to investors.
The company expects even more production increases as the new concentrator ramps up.
“We expect the fourth quarter will be the first quarter where the full impact of the new concentrator is realized,” Taseko noted in its Q3.
Meanwhile, operating costs declined by 7%.
Earlier this month, the company also reported a drop in sales as a result of a vessel delay at the end of the quarter. These sales will be included in fourth quarter results.
“With the copper price stabilizing above $3.00 per pound and with Gibraltar’s operating costs trending lower, we will benefit from improved margins which will generate strong cash flows going forward,” Hallbauer noted. He says the company will use the cash to invest “in a disciplined manner.”
This quarter the company also extended its copper hedging program by purchasing put options for 13.5 million pounds of copper in Q2 2014, which Hallbauer said would help the firm “insure minimum revenues.”
The company’s third-quarter results will likely be overshadowed by a Federal panel’s environmental assessment of the New Prosperity project which is expected later this week.
“While we have no insight into the content of the report, we believe our commitment to invest an additional $300 million in environmental responsibility fully addresses the concerns from the 2010 review and that the project should receive the necessary authorizations to proceed,” Hallbauer noted.
