Taseko Mines to move ahead with Arizona copper project

Taseko Mines (TSX: TKO; NYSE-AM: TGB; LSE: TKO) said the Florence town council in Arizona has decided not to appeal the Aquifer protection permit (APP) for the company’s Florence copper project, which it received last month. The permit, granted by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), allows Taseko to extract copper in-situ, a process done using a water-based solution. The project, located between Phoenix and Tucson, will include 24 injection-recovery and monitoring wells. Copper will be recovered from the solution in an SX/EW (solvent extraction-electrowinning) plant, which is expected to reduce production costs and the environmental footprint of the project. “We are very pleased by this decision and believe this change in approach by Council signals a new beginning,” President Stuart McDonald said in a press release. “Our expectation is that open and productive dialogue will result and that our future together is bright.” Continue reading at www.northernminer.com.