MILL EXPANSION: Taseko updates Gibraltar work

the capacity of the Gibraltar concentrator to 85,000 t/d has spent $190 million of its $235 million budget. (New mining equipment accounts for $90 million of the total budget.) Commissioning will begin in December this year and ramp up to design capacity will occur over the following six months.

The SAG and ball mill components have arrived on site, 65 km north of Williams Lake, and erection of the grinding mills is underway. Taseko expects the flotation cells to be delivered this month. More contractors are arriving as the scope of the work shifts from civil and structural activities to mechanical and electrical installations.

Pit equipment has begun arriving, noted Taseko. The first two of 10 additional haulage trucks have arrived, and the other eight will arrive over the next 12 months. Components of a new Bucyrus 495R shovel are arrive at the site, and the shovel will be operational in November.

An important part of the GDP3 project is the new molybdenum recovery plant that will more than double moly metal production to over 3.0 million lb per year. Other information is available at TasekoMines.com.