Takeover of Florence Copper abandoned; meeting canceled
Permit hearing is next week in Florence
FLORENCE — Taseko Mines Ltd., owner of the Florence Copper Project, says a dissident shareholder group has given up its attempt to take over the board of directors, and a special meeting of shareholders has been canceled.
The group known as Raging River Capital LP withdrew its request for the meeting, citing inadequate shareholder support.
In an unrelated development, the Arizona environmental agency will hold a public hearing on a temporary permit for the Florence Copper Project from 6 to 9 p.m. May 19 at Florence High School.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has announced a draft temporary permit for the project and has been taking public comments.
With this permit, the company will have received 20 of the 21 authorizations required to operate a “production test facility,” or small-scale test phase of the Florence Copper Project, Russell Hallbauer, president and CEO of Taseko of Vancouver, Canada — owner of Florence Copper — said in a statement on April 14.
The town of Florence and many Florence residents oppose the project, fearing contamination of the water supply through the leaching method proposed. Others look forward to the good-paying jobs and the chance to diversify the local economy during the 20-year life of the mine. The town has refused to grant industrial zoning that would allow the project to operate on all of its land, but the company hopes to begin on a 160-acre parcel of state land outside the town’s jurisdiction.
