Second quarter production of 21,100 tonnes of
copper
VANCOUVER, July 13, 2015 /CNW/ - Capstone Mining Corp.
("Capstone") (TSX: CS) today announced operating results for the
three and six months ending June 30,
2015. Combined production totalled 21,100 and 44,800 tonnes
of copper in the second quarter and year-to-date periods,
respectively, with additional by-products of zinc, molybdenum,
lead, silver and gold.
Q2 2015 Copper
Production (tonnes)
|
|
Q1
|
Q2
|
YTD
2015
|
Pinto
Valley
|
15,800
|
14,300
|
30,100
|
Cozamin
|
3,800
|
2,700
|
6,500
|
Minto
|
4,100
|
4,100
|
8,200
|
Total copper
production
|
23,700
|
21,100
|
44,800
|
"We are pleased to report good results from our operational
improvements at Pinto Valley with respect to mill reliability, and
we approached our targeted run rate by the end of the second
quarter," said Darren Pylot,
President and CEO of Capstone. "In total, second quarter production
met our expectations, which called for lower grade at Pinto Valley.
Improving performance at Pinto Valley and strong results from
Minto offset the production
short-fall at Cozamin."
Operational Highlights
- At Pinto Valley, mill throughput improved 7% over the first
quarter with successive month-over-month improvement throughout the
second quarter and averaging over 50,000 tonnes per day ("tpd") so
far in July. The asset improvement plan is on track, with the
various tasks ranging from 65% to 85% complete and operational
reliability is increasing. Throughput for June surpassed 52,000 tpd
for one-third of the days and was over 50,000 tpd for half of the
days in June, with the mill posting an all-time daily high in
excess of 58,000 tpd. Production remains on plan with better than
predicted block grades continuing in the second quarter. The 2015
mine plan calls for the second and third quarters to be the lowest
grade quarters of the year.
- At Cozamin, grade, throughput and recoveries were all lower
than planned for the quarter. While progress was made on improving
development performance and increasing long-hole inventory, the
mine continues to work through changes made to our mining
procedures and the need to adapt practices to increased ore
production from the footwall zone. Practices are being refined,
most particularly related to grade control, but Cozamin is not
expected to reach its production guidance for 2015.
- At Minto, production continued
above plan in the second quarter and as a result Minto is expected to exceed its 2015
production guidance. Ore from Area 118 underground continued to run
significantly above model grades and enhanced mining practices
resulted in lower dilution than budgeted. Further unplanned ore
production came from the Area 2 Stage 2 pit above the water storage
level. The Yukon Water Board issued a draft Water Use Licence on
May 29, 2015 and is now in the
process of issuing the final licence. We continue to process
underground and stockpiled ore, while we await receipt of the final
licence.
Q2 2015 Operating
Details
|
|
Pinto
Valley
|
Cozamin
|
Minto
|
|
Q2
|
YTD
2015
|
Q2
|
YTD
2015
|
Q2
|
YTD
2015
|
Contained
Production(1)
|
- Copper in
concentrate and cathode (tonnes)
|
14,266
|
30,075
|
2,693
|
6,466
|
4,141
|
8,236
|
- Zinc
(tonnes)
|
-
|
-
|
1,393
|
3,064
|
-
|
-
|
- Molybdenum (Mo
tonnes)
|
13
|
62
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
- Lead
(tonnes)
|
-
|
-
|
193
|
474
|
-
|
-
|
- Silver
(ounces)
|
63,861
|
136,229
|
258,340
|
544,041
|
39,214
|
77,132
|
- Gold
(ounces)(2)
|
668
|
749
|
-
|
-
|
3,904
|
7,696
|
Payable Copper
Production(1) (tonnes)
|
13,789
|
29,070
|
2,572
|
6,182
|
4,006
|
7,969
|
|
(in concentrate and
cathode)
|
Mine
|
- Ore (tonnes) – open
pit
|
6,541,097
|
11,245,868
|
-
|
-
|
90,485
|
170,782
|
- Waste
(tonnes)
|
2,237,016
|
4,294,812
|
-
|
-
|
42,875
|
101,275
|
- Ore (tonnes) –
underground
|
-
|
-
|
252,574
|
540,793
|
116,488
|
212,979
|
Mill
|
- Tonnes
processed
|
4,377,126
|
8,414,761
|
257,586
|
544,177
|
353,312
|
688,194
|
- Tonnes processed
per day
|
48,100
|
46,490
|
2,831
|
3,007
|
3,883
|
3,802
|
- Copper grade
(%)
|
0.37
(3)
|
0.39
(3)
|
1.17
|
1.30
|
1.38
|
1.40
|
- Zinc grade
(%)
|
-
|
-
|
0.92
|
0.87
|
-
|
-
|
- Molybdenum grade
(%)
|
0.005
|
0.008
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
- Lead grade
(%)
|
-
|
-
|
0.16
|
0.17
|
-
|
-
|
- Silver grade
(g/t)
|
*
|
*
|
46.97
|
45.42
|
4.69
|
4.61
|
- Gold grade
(g/t)
|
*
|
*
|
-
|
-
|
0.49
|
0.48
|
Recoveries
|
- Copper
(%)
|
86.0
(3)
|
87.1
(3)
|
89.0
|
91.2
|
84.8
|
85.3
|
- Zinc (%)
|
-
|
-
|
58.9
|
64.6
|
-
|
-
|
- Lead (%)
|
-
|
-
|
45.9
|
51.6
|
-
|
-
|
- Silver
(%)
|
*
|
*
|
66.4
|
68.5
|
73.6
|
75.6
|
- Gold (%)
|
*
|
*
|
-
|
-
|
70.6
|
72.2
|
Concentrates(2)
|
- Copper concentrate
(dmt)
|
47,293
|
100,886
|
10,761
|
25,372
|
11,478
|
23,141
|
|
Copper (%)
|
29.1
|
28.7
|
25.0
|
25.5
|
36.1
|
35.6
|
|
Silver
(g/t)
|
*
|
*
|
646
|
571
|
106.3
|
103.7
|
|
Gold (g/t)
|
*
|
*
|
-
|
-
|
10.6
|
10.3
|
- Zinc concentrate
(dmt)
|
-
|
-
|
2,970
|
6,505
|
-
|
-
|
|
Zinc (%)
|
-
|
-
|
46.9
|
47.1
|
-
|
-
|
- Molybdenum
concentrate (dmt)
|
27
|
125
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
- Lead concentrate
(dmt)
|
-
|
-
|
333
|
789
|
-
|
-
|
|
Lead (%)
|
-
|
-
|
57.9
|
60.0
|
-
|
-
|
|
Silver
(g/t)
|
-
|
-
|
3,248
|
3,075
|
-
|
-
|
Payable Copper
Shipped (tonnes)
|
14,340
|
27,629
|
3,313
|
7,185
|
2,820
|
5,741
|
(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 and gold have not been estimated in
the Pinto Valley resource model. Only recovered silver and
payable gold is reported for this mine.
|
Production Outlook
Capstone's 2015 production guidance of 90,000 tonnes (±5%) of
copper remains unchanged, however the distribution by mine is
expected to be different than originally guided, with
outperformance at Minto expected
to make up most of the anticipated shortfall at Cozamin for the
year.
Financial Results Timing
Capstone will report Q2 2015 financial results on Tuesday, July 28, 2015 after market close,
followed by a conference call and webcast for investors and
analysts on Wednesday, July 29, 2015
at 11:30 am Eastern Time
(8:30 am Pacific Time).
Conference Call and Webcast Details
Date:
|
Wednesday, July 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://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=1000199&s=1&k=6E7B88DAB505C62F38A067093BB73611
|
Replay:
|
North America:
1-888-390-0541, International: +416-764-8677
|
Replay Passcode:
|
620193#
|
The conference call replay will be available until Thursday, August 13, 2015. The conference call
audio and transcript will be available on Capstone's website within
approximately 24 hours of at
http://capstonemining.com/investors/events-and-presentations/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", "expectations", "targeted", "plan",
"planned", "estimated" 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 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.
SOURCE Capstone Mining Corp.