Taseko’s Florence copper project: ramp-up, wellfield design and SX/EW notes for engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
Taseko Mines has completed construction of the Florence in-situ copper project in Arizona, with wellfield acidification underway, injection flow rates meeting or exceeding design expectations, and copper-in-solution grades now sufficient to start commissioning the solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX/EW) plant for first cathode output within weeks. Three drill rigs are expanding the commercial wellfield to boost solution flow and support ramp-up to full production through 2026, while Gibraltar in British Columbia delivered 98 million lb copper and 1.9 million lb molybdenum in 2025, including 31 million lb copper in Q4 at 0.26% head grade and 81% recovery.
Technical Brief
- Wellfield acidification at Florence started in early November, with solution circulating through all new production wells by early December.
- Injection flow rates in the Florence wellfield are outperforming design expectations, shortening the early leaching phase.
- SX/EW plant commissioning at Florence is progressing “without major issues”, indicating process equipment and control systems largely stable.
- Three drill rigs are currently active at Florence, focused on expanding the commercial wellfield footprint to raise solution throughput.
- Gibraltar mine delivered 98 million lb copper and 1.9 million lb molybdenum last year, with 99 million lb copper sold.
- Q4 copper output at Gibraltar reached 31 million lb, supported by 0.26% Cu head grade and 81% recovery.
- Gibraltar’s molybdenum production in Q4 was 0.8 million lb, about 50% higher than Q3 and the best quarter in eight years.
- The Gibraltar SX/EW plant produced 0.9 million lb copper cathode in Q4 and remains in continuous operation.
- Taseko has guided copper production of 120–130 million lb for 2025.
Our Take
With Gibraltar already producing 98 million lb of copper and 1.9 million lb of molybdenum last year, Taseko’s move toward first output at Florence Copper in early 2026 positions it to shift from a single major Canadian concentrator to a more diversified North America copper platform in both Arizona and British Columbia.
The step-up in forecast copper production at Gibraltar to 120–130 million lb in 2025, combined with Florence’s ramp-up window, suggests Taseko is timing its growth to coincide with the copper-heavy project pipeline that dominates our 146 keyword-matched copper and molybdenum pieces, rather than chasing earlier-cycle expansions.
Taseko’s 77.5% interest in the New Prosperity property and its Yellowhead copper project keeps a substantial British Columbia pipeline behind Florence, which in our database aligns the company with other multi-asset copper developers that are preparing optionality for tighter permitting or water constraints at individual sites.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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