The following email was sent to residents who have signed up for Florence Copper updates:

You have expressed interest in our work and in return it has always been our practice to keep you informed as developments unfold. So, here is a quick update for you on the legal front.

Yesterday, the Arizona Court of Appeals decisively ruled that Florence Copper’s permit to operate its Production Test Facility is valid and meets all the requirements of state law. This is a great decision and certainly a welcome one.

The Court’s ruling upholds earlier favorable decisions by the state’s Water Quality Appeals Board and Superior Court. The Court has also awarded attorneys’ fees and costs to Florence Copper and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality as a result of their multi-year effort to defend the permit from unsuccessful legal challenges brought by the Town of Florence and Southwest Value Partners, a real estate investment firm.

Since 2012, the Town of Florence and Southwest Value Partners have initiated a series of political and legal actions against Taseko/Florence Copper to prevent the company from opening its in-situ copper recovery (ISCR) facility in the Town of Florence, Arizona.

The Town Council has lost every one of its legal challenges – now 7 in total -- yet they continue to spend and commit more and more money to their reckless strategy. Yes, they have already spent millions on litigation lawyers, but the spending does not stop there. In wrongly attacking and damaging Florence Copper they will soon have to pay the company in excess of $2 million dollars in court awarded attorney fees and costs.

Frankly, the conduct of the Town Council is mystifying. And why they continue doing what they do is stunning.

Meanwhile, the Florence Copper Project continues to operate and perform as designed.It has proven itself to be an environmental success and is meeting every performance criteria and obligations set down by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Hope you are well and staying safe.

Sincerely,

Stacy Gramazio, Manager of Communications & Public Affairs

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