Florence must triple output to hit Trekor target: CEO

Trekor Metals (TSX, LSE: TKO; NYSE-A: TGB) insists production at its Florence copper mine in Arizona will accelerate threefold in the second half to allow the operation to meet a goal of producing at least 30 million lb. for the full year.

The world’s first in-situ copper recovery (ISCR) operation, located just over 100 km southeast of Phoenix, produced 6.7 million lb. in the six months ended June 30. That included 5.2 million lb. in the second quarter, the operation’s first full three-month operating period.

To reach this year’s target of 30 million to 35 million pounds, Florence must deliver another 23.3 million to 28.3 million pounds. Trekor plans to bring about 26 new wells online this month, CEO Stuart McDonald told The Northern Miner.

“We’re going to see, I think, a much faster ramp-up now in the second half of the year,” McDonald said Thursday. “Our goal is to be exiting 2026 essentially at that capacity run rate.”

Florence is Trekor’s (formerly Taseko Mines) main growth engine and its only near-term route to an organic production increase. Reaching the 85-million-lb. annual design rate would cut the company’s reliance on its Gibraltar mine in British Columbia and test whether commercial-scale in-situ recovery can deliver the low costs Trekor forecasts.

Trekor shares listed in Toronto last traded up 1.2% at C$11.65 apiece. The stock has nearly trebled in value over the past 12 months, testing a high at C$12.47 and a low at C$4.16 per share. Trekor has a market capitalization of C$4.3 billion (US$3 billion).

Wellfield buildout

Trekor began producing cathode in February with about 90 wells and had 110 operating at the end of June. Five rigs are drilling the next well groups, with more additions planned each month for the rest of the year.

Florence injects a weak sulphuric acid solution into the orebody and pumps the copper-bearing liquid to a surface plant. The method avoids an open pit, waste rock and tailings, but output depends on drilling, lining, permitting and connecting hundreds of wells.

The wells typically extend 245 to 275 metres below surface, MacDonald said. Arizona regulators inspect each one before Trekor can start injection. Surface pipes and electrical systems then connect groups of wells to the processing plant.

The wellfield averaged flows of about 12,000 litres per minute during the second quarter, while the recovered solution graded 1.6 grams copper per litre. McDonald said individual wells varied, but no part of the field had materially missed expectations.

Trekor expects each block to produce for about five years. It plans to add 80 to 100 wells annually and could operate 600 to 700 at once during peak production, shifting the wellfield across the orebody over the mine’s 22-year life.

Cost test

Florence’s second-quarter cash cost reached $4.72 (C$6.61) per lb. as the operation spread fixed expenses across limited production. McDonald expects unit costs to fall later this year and through 2027 as more wells lift output.

The company still targets a long-term operating cost of about $1.30 per lb., including royalties, McDonald said. Higher sulphuric acid prices could pressure that forecast, although a fixed-price contract covers Florence’s needs this year. Trekor does not expect supply shortages.

Gibraltar support

Gibraltar gives Trekor cash and operating cover during the Florence ramp. The mine produced 30.3 million lb. in the second quarter at a cash cost of $2.41 per lb. and remains on track to produce 110 million to 115 million lb. this year.

McDonald expects Gibraltar to hold near that range for the next few years. A planned pit pushback later this year will shift some feed to the Connector pit’s upper benches, where grades and recoveries may fall from second-quarter levels.

Strong Gibraltar production and higher copper prices helped Trekor generate $133 million (C$183.4 million) in second-quarter operating cash flow. The company held $186 million in cash and $342 million in available liquidity at June 30.

Future plans

Beyond current operations, Trekor’s development pipeline centres on the Yellowhead copper project in British Columbia, now in environmental review. Permitting should take another three to four years, followed by two to two-and-a-half years of construction, McDonald said. The project could average 206 million lb. of copper annually in its first five years.