First quarter production
of 23,700 tonnes of copper
VANCOUVER, April 13, 2015 /CNW/ - Capstone
Mining Corp. ("Capstone") (TSX: CS) today announced operating
results for the three months ending March
31, 2015. Combined copper production totalled
23,700 tonnes, with additional by-products of
zinc, molybdenum, lead, silver and gold.
Q1 2015 Production (tonnes)
Pinto Valley
|
|
|
Copper in concentrates and cathode
|
15,800
|
Cozamin
|
|
|
Copper in concentrates
|
3,800
|
Minto
|
|
|
Copper in concentrates
|
4,100
|
|
|
|
Total copper production
|
23,700
|
"Our copper production for the quarter came in right on
target," said Darren Pylot,
President and CEO of Capstone. "Pinto Valley met guidance, with
better than predicted grades and flexibility in the mine plan
allowing us to adjust the mine plan as necessary while we are
continuing with the improvement of our mill maintenance systems.
Outperformance at Minto more than
made up for the shortfall at Cozamin, which is being addressed
through ongoing improvements to mine development
practices."
Operational Highlights
- Combined payable copper shipments from all mines
totalled 20,082 tonnes.
- At Pinto Valley, mill throughput was lower than planned
and is being addressed through a number of mill initiatives.
However, better than predicted block grades and flexibility in the
mine plan allowed for the mining and processing of higher grade
ore, ensuring copper production met guidance. As a result of
enhancements to the PV2 mine plan moving forward, this minor
rescheduling is not expected to have a material impact on future
periods.
- At Cozamin, both grade and throughput were lower than
planned as implementation of new ground support procedures advanced
slower than expected in the first part of the quarter. Benefits
from additional training were realized by March, with activities
now underway to improve development performance and increase
longhole inventory. The current plan calls for Cozamin to make up
the production shortfall from the first quarter throughout the
remainder of 2015.
- At Minto, production was
significantly higher than planned due to ore from Area 118
underground that was above model grades, combined with the
successful mining of a switchback in the Area 2 Stage 2 pit in
advance of it being required for water storage, which was not in
the mine plan. The hearing held by the Yukon Water Board on the
Water Use Licence amendment took place during the first week of
March and we await receipt of the licence. The current plan has the
mill continuing to process underground and stockpiled ore, with
surface mining on hold until receipt of the required licence which
is expected in the second quarter.
Q1 2015 Operating Details
|
Pinto Valley
|
Cozamin
|
Minto
|
Total
|
Contained Copper
Production(1)
|
- Copper in concentrate and cathode
(tonnes)
|
15,809
|
3,773
|
4,095
|
23,677
|
- Zinc (tonnes)
|
-
|
1,671
|
-
|
1,671
|
- Molybdenum (Mo tonnes)
|
49
|
-
|
-
|
49
|
- Lead (tonnes)
|
-
|
281
|
-
|
281
|
- Silver (ounces)
|
72,368
|
285,701
|
37,919
|
395,988
|
- Gold (ounces)(2)
|
-
|
-
|
3,792
|
3,792
|
Payable Copper Production(1) (tonnes)
|
15,282
|
3,609
|
3,962
|
22,853
|
Mine
|
- Ore (tonnes) – open pit
|
4,704,771
|
-
|
80,297
|
4,785,068
|
- Waste (tonnes)
|
2,057,796
|
-
|
58,400
|
2,116,196
|
- Ore (tonnes) – underground
|
-
|
288,219
|
96,491
|
384,710
|
Mill
|
- Tonnes processed
|
4,037,635
|
286,591
|
334,961
|
4,659,187
|
- Tonnes processed per day
|
44,863
|
3,184
|
3,722
|
51,769
|
- Copper grade (%)
|
0.43(3)
|
1.42
|
1.42
|
0.56
|
- Zinc grade (%)
|
-
|
0.83
|
-
|
0.83
|
- Molybdenum grade (%)
|
0.011
|
-
|
-
|
0.011
|
- Lead grade (%)
|
-
|
0.17
|
-
|
0.17
|
- Silver grade (g/t)
|
*
|
44.0
|
4.52
|
22.7
|
- Gold grade (g/t)
|
-
|
-
|
0.48
|
0.48
|
Recoveries
|
- Copper (%)
|
88.6(3)
|
92.9
|
85.9
|
88.7
|
- Zinc (%)
|
-
|
70.1
|
-
|
70.1
|
- Lead (%)
|
-
|
56.3
|
-
|
56.3
|
- Silver (%)
|
*
|
70.4
|
77.9
|
71.2
|
- Gold (%)
|
-
|
-
|
73.9
|
73.9
|
Concentrates
|
- Copper concentrate (dmt)
|
53,593
|
14,611
|
11,663
|
79,867
|
Copper
(%)
|
28.4
|
25.8
|
35.1
|
28.9
|
Silver
(g/t)
|
*
|
516.0
|
101.1
|
331.9
|
Gold
(g/t)
|
-
|
-
|
10.1
|
10.1
|
- Zinc concentrate (dmt)
|
-
|
3,534
|
-
|
3,534
|
Zinc
(%)
|
-
|
47.3
|
-
|
47.3
|
- Molybdenum
concentrate (dmt)
|
98
|
-
|
-
|
98
|
- Lead concentrate (dmt)
|
-
|
456
|
-
|
456
|
Lead
(%)
|
-
|
61.5
|
-
|
61.5
|
Silver
(g/t)
|
-
|
2,949
|
-
|
2,949
|
Payable Copper Shipped (tonnes)
|
13,289
|
3,872
|
2,921
|
20,082
|
(1) Adjustments based on final settlements
will be made in future periods. (2) Pinto Valley gold production
reaches payable levels from time to time. Any payable gold
production will be reported in the period revenue is received. At
Minto, final gold
production is not available since
assaying is conducted off-site, but is estimated above. (3) Grade
and recoveries were estimated based on concentrate
production. *Silver has not been
estimated in the Pinto Valley resource model. Only recovered silver
is reported for this mine.
Production Outlook
Capstone's 2015 guidance for 90,000 tonnes (±5%) of copper
in concentrates and cathode, at a C1 cash cost(1) of
$2.00 to $2.10 per pound of payable
copper produced net of by-product credits and selling costs,
remains unchanged.
(1) This is an alternative performance measure; please see
"Alternative Performance Measures" at the end of this
release. All amounts in US$ unless otherwise
specified.
Financial Results Timing
Capstone will report Q1 2015 financial results on
Tuesday, April 28, 2015 after market
close, followed by a conference call and webcast for investors and
analysts on Wednesday, April
29, 2015 at 11:30 am Eastern Time (8:30 am Pacific Time).
Conference Call and Webcast Details
Date:
|
|
|
Wednesday, April
29, 2015
|
Time:
|
|
|
11:30 am Eastern Time
(8:30 am Pacific Time)
|
Dial in:
|
|
|
North America:
1-888-390-0546, International: +416-764-8688
|
Webcast:
|
|
|
http://www.newswire.ca/en/webcast/detail/1492981/1662973
|
Replay:
|
|
|
North America:
1-888-390-0541, International: +416-764-8677
|
Replay Passcode:
|
|
|
822166#
|
The conference call replay will be available until
Wednesday, May 13, 2015. The
conference call audio and transcript will be available on
Capstone's website within approximately 24 hours of the call
at
http://capstonemining.com/investors/conference-calls-and-webcasts/default.aspx.
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 extend the lives of
our current mines with mineral resource and reserve expansions, to
advance the Santo Domingo
development project, conduct focused exploration and grow 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 Capstone
Mining Corp. (the "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 estimation of mineral reserves
and mineral resources, the conversion of mineral resources to
mineral reserves, 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", "budget", "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 "guidance", "plan", "planned", "estimated",
"projections", "projected" and "expected". 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 mineral 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; counterparty
risks associated with sales of our metals; changes in general
economic conditions; increased operating and capital costs;
operating in foreign jurisdictions with risk of changes to
governmental regulation; impact of climatic conditions
on our Pinto Valley, Cozamin and Minto operations; increasing
energy prices; our ability to integrate new acquisitions into our
operations, 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 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. There can be 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.
National Instrument 43-101 Compliance
The technical information in this news release ("Technical
Information") was prepared by, or under the supervision of, a
qualified person (a "Qualified Person") as defined in National
Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral
Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators ("NI
43-101"). The disclosure of the Technical Information contained in
this news release has been reviewed and approved by Brad Skeeles, P. Eng., Vice President of North
American Operations (Technical Information related to mining and
production) and Gregg Bush, P. Eng.,
Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, both Qualified
Persons under NI 43-101.
Alternative Performance Measures
The item marked with (1) "C1 Cash Cost per Pound of
Payable Copper Produced" is an Alternative Performance Measure.
This performance measure is included because this statistic is a
key performance measure that management uses to monitor
performance. Management uses this statistic to assess how the
Company is performing to plan and to assess the overall
effectiveness and efficiency of mining operations. This performance
measure does not have a meaning within IFRS and, therefore, amounts
presented may not be comparable to similar data presented by other
mining companies. This performance measure should not be considered
in isolation as a substitute for measures of performance in
accordance with IFRS.
SOURCE Capstone Mining Corp.