VANCOUVER,
Sept. 22, 2014 /CNW/ - Capstone
Mining Corp. ("Capstone") (TSX: CS) today announced that it has
received an amended Quartz Mining License for the Minto North
Deposit as outlined in the Phase V/VI Pre-Feasibility Study. It has
not, however, received its Water Use License ("WUL") amendment,
which the Yukon Water Board believes is required in order to
commence pre-stripping of Capstone's Minto North pit.
Underground mining and milling operations are not affected and
production guidance at Minto for
2014 is unchanged. The mill will process underground ore and
stockpile for the remainder of the year as planned. The 2014 mine
plan submitted in the license applications did however call for
pre-stripping of the Minto North open pit, starting in September 2014. The delay in starting the
pre-stripping of Minto North has resulted in a revised mine plan
which will bring forward fully permitted underground ore from Area
118, starting later this month, to maintain full mill production
and partially offset the 2015 shortfall in ore from the Minto North
open pit. Production in 2015 is not expected to be materially
different than 2014, however the most significant production from
Minto North will shift from 2015 to 2016.
As a result of the delay in pre-stripping, the surface mining
contractor will be downsizing its crew at Minto, affecting approximately 50 people. This
downsizing is in addition to the 44 jobs affected with the surface
mining contractor in January 2014,
when Minto slowed open pit mining
to better align with the expected permitting timeline. Following
the downsizing by the surface mining contractor, total direct and
contract employment at Minto is
approximately 250 people. Capstone's 171 employees and present
underground mining contract employees are not affected. Support
contractor positions will be evaluated based on the reduction of
personnel for the mining contractor.
"We are pleased to have received our Quartz Mining License
amendment, however we believe the most prudent course of action is
to delay the Minto North pre-stripping until we receive our WUL,"
said Darren Pylot, Capstone's
President and CEO. "There is no change to our copper production
guidance at Minto for 2014 and no
material difference expected in 2015."
"The most regrettable result is job losses at our surface mining
contractor. We will continue to work closely with the Water Board
staff in order to be in a position to recall our surface mining
contractor as quickly as possible."
The Minto Mine commenced operations with a six year mine life in
2007 from the Main pit, the only known ore deposit at that time.
Since then, successful exploration has extended the mine life an
additional nine years to 2021, assuming permits are received. Under
the regulatory process in Yukon,
new permits are required each time additional reserves are brought
into the mine plan. Capstone made application to the Yukon
Environmental Socio-Economic Assessment Board ("YESAB") for all
remaining identified copper reserves on the property in
July 2013 and YESAB recommended in
favour of the proposed continuation of operation of the Mine in
April 2014. Application was made for
the amended Quartz Mining and Water Use Licenses on July 2, 2014.
About Capstone Mining Corp.
Capstone Mining Corp. is a Canadian base metals mining company,
focused on copper. We are committed to the responsible development
of our assets and the environments in which we operate. Our three
producing mines are the Pinto Valley copper mine located in
Arizona, US, the Cozamin
copper-silver mine in Zacatecas State, Mexico and the Minto copper mine in Yukon, Canada. In addition, Capstone has two
copper development projects; the large scale 70% owned copper-iron
Santo Domingo project in Region
III, Chile, in partnership with
Korea Resources Corporation, and the 100% owned copper-zinc Kutcho
project in British Columbia,
Canada, as well as exploration properties in Chile. Using our cash flow and strong balance
sheet as a platform, Capstone's strategy is to continue to grow
with mineral resource and reserve expansions and exploration, and
through acquisitions in politically stable, mining-friendly
regions. We will pace our growth with our financial capacity,
ensuring we retain, as a priority, sufficient financial flexibility
to meet the requirements of our existing operations and our
committed development projects, while maintaining an adequate
cushion to deal with market volatility and operating risks inherent
in the mining industry. Our headquarters are in Vancouver, Canada and we are listed on the
Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Further information is available at
www.capstonemining.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This document may contain "forward-looking information" within the
meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively,
"forward-looking statements"). These forward-looking statements are
made as of the date of this document and Company does not intend,
and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking
statements, except as required under applicable securities
legislation.
Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future
performance and reflect Company management's expectations or
beliefs regarding future events and include, but are not limited
to, statements with respect to the timely receipt of licenses, the
mine plan and sequence at Minto,
the continued operation of the Minto Mine, estimation of mineral
reserves and mineral resources, the realization of mineral reserve
estimates, the timing and amount of estimated future production,
costs of production, capital expenditures, success of mining
operations, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation
expenses, title disputes or claims and limitations on insurance
coverage. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be
identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does
not expect", "is expected", "outlook", "guidance", "scheduled",
"estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not
anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases
or statements that certain actions, events or results "may",
"could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be
achieved" or the negative of these terms or comparable terminology.
In this document, certain forward-looking statements are identified
by words including "may", "future", "expected", "intends" and
"estimates". By their very nature forward-looking statements
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of
the Company to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others,
risks related to actual results of current exploration activities;
changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined;
future prices of resources; possible variations in ore reserves,
grade or recovery rates; accidents, dependence on key personnel,
labour pool constraints, labour disputes; availability of
infrastructure required for the development of mining projects;
delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the
completion of development or construction activities; and other
risks of the mining industry as well as those factors detailed from
time to time in the Company's interim and annual financial
statements and management's discussion and analysis of those
statements, all of which are filed and available for review under
the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the
Company has attempted to identify important factors that could
cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from
those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other
factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as
anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company provides no
assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be
accurate, as actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly,
readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements.
SOURCE Capstone Mining Corp.