Taseko Mines (NYSE: TGB) reported Q2 EPS of $0.01, in-line with the analyst estimate of $0.01.

Russell Hallbauer, President & CEO commented, "Following six months of lower head grade at Gibraltar, mining operations returned to plan and copper grades increased by approximately 50% in the second quarter, as compared to the previous two quarters. This resulted in copper production of 34 million pounds in the second quarter, much higher than the previous two quarters. Improved metal production was due to the higher copper grade ore and improved copper recovery. Copper recovery improvement was a result of higher grades as well as less oxidation in the ore that was processed. We expect copper grades and recovery to average similar levels for the balance of 2018."

"Our Florence Copper Project continues to advance on time and on budget. Wellfield construction was completed in April and we have recently conducted a number of wellfield tests with very encouraging results that meet or exceed the bench-scale testing used for the 2017 technical report. We expect to begin injecting solutions and pre-leaching the deposit in August at the same time as we are commissioning the SX/EW plant. First cathode is anticipated before the end of December," Mr. Hallbauer added. "Development of our Florence project will come at a critical time as trade tariffs and trade disputes continue among the largest consumers of copper in the world. The USA imports approximately 600,000 metric tonnes of refined copper annually. With limited new copper production capacity expected to come on stream in the USA, Florence is an extremely valuable asset for our Company."

Mr. Hallbauer continued, "Demand for molybdenum remains strong and continues to reflect a tight market. We experienced some recovery issues with our molybdenum circuit in the second quarter which impacted metal production and resulted in reduced by-product credits. The circuit issues have been resolved and we expect molybdenum production to increase for the rest of the year and the important by-product credits to improve accordingly."

"Cash flow in the quarter was impacted by continued spending at our Florence Copper Project as well as a semi-annual bond interest payment. With our current cost structure and spending at Florence on the decline, we anticipate maintaining a solid cash balance in the months ahead. While the copper price has been volatile over the past six weeks, we continue to believe the fundamentals remain strong for copper in the medium to long-term," concluded Mr. Hallbauer.

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