VANCOUVER, British
Columbia, Aug. 5, 2015
/PRNewswire/ -- Capstone Mining Corp. ("Capstone") (TSX: CS) has
received the new Water Use Licence ("WUL") for the Minto Mine. This
WUL completes the final stage of permitting for all of the mineral
reserves identified in the July 2012
Phase VI Pre-Feasibility Study. Most importantly, this licence is
required in order to commence stripping of the high-grade, shallow
Minto North deposit.
"We are very pleased to have received the long-anticipated
WUL to support the production extension at Minto," said Darren
Pylot, Capstone's President and CEO. "Access to the
high-grade mineralization at Minto North will have a very positive
impact on the continuation of jobs and economic benefit in
Yukon. The mining of the Minto
North deposit also makes a significant contribution to the
economics of the mine and to Capstone's cash flow in
2016."
Ramp-up in preparation for pre-stripping the Minto North
pit will commence immediately, with ore from Minto North starting
to feed the mill in December 2015,
followed by significant high-grade ore released in the second
quarter of 2016. For the balance of 2015, the mill will continue to
process underground and stockpiled ore. In 2016, the mill will
process predominately ore from Minto North supplemented by
underground and stockpiled ore.
Minto is expected to
surpass its 2015 production guidance. Positive underground grade
reconciliations and unplanned ore received primarily from the Area
2 switchback early in the year, are projected to more than offset
the shortfall that resulted from the delay in receiving the WUL. In
addition, the mine plan has been revised to mine Minto North in a
staged approach to mitigate some of the delay. Production in 2016
is expected to be approximately 60 million pounds of copper. The
majority of the 2015 capitalized stripping guidance of $23.6 million is still expected to be spent in
2015.
The Minto Mine commenced operations in 2007 with a six
year mine life from the Main pit, the only known ore deposit at
that time. Since then, successful exploration has extended the mine
life to 2021. Under the regulatory process in Yukon, new permits are required each time
additional reserves are brought into the mine plan. Capstone made
an application to the Yukon Environmental Socio-Economic Assessment
Board ("YESAB") for all copper reserves (exclusive of resources)
identified on the property as at July
2013 and YESAB recommended in favour of the proposed
continuation of operations at Minto in April
2014. Application for the amended Quartz Mining License
("QML") and WUL was made on July 2,
2014. Approval of the QML amendment for Minto North was
received in September 2014 and
approval for the full Phase V/VI QML amendment in December 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 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", "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 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; delays in obtaining governmental
approvals or financing; counterparty risks associated with sales of
our metals; changes in general economic conditions; increased
operating and capital costs; operating in jurisdictions with risk
of changes to governmental regulation; impact of climatic
conditions on our Minto
operations; increasing energy prices, 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
Unless otherwise indicated, Capstone has prepared the
technical information in this news release ("Technical
Information") based on information contained in the technical
reports, news releases and MD&A's (collectively the "Disclosure
Documents") available under Capstone Mining Corp.'s company profile
on SEDAR
at www.sedar.com. Each
Disclosure Document 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"). Readers are encouraged to review the full text of
the Disclosure Documents which qualifies the Technical
Information. Readers are advised that mineral resources that
are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic
viability. The Disclosure Documents are each intended to be read as
a whole, and sections should not be read or relied upon out of
context. The Technical Information is subject to the assumptions
and qualifications contained in the Disclosure
Documents.
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 Gregg Bush, P. Eng., Senior Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer of Capstone, a Qualified Person under NI
43-101.
Cautionary Note to United States
Investors
This news release contains disclosure that has been
prepared in accordance with the requirements of Canadian securities
laws, which differ from the requirements of US securities laws.
Without limiting the foregoing, this news release may refer to
technical reports that use the terms "indicated" and "inferred"
resources. US investors are cautioned that, while such terms are
recognized and required by Canadian securities laws, the SEC does
not recognize them. Under US standards, mineralization may not be
classified as a "reserve" unless the determination has been made
that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced
or extracted at the time the reserve determination is made. US
investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of
indicated resources will ever be converted into reserves. US
investors should also understand that "inferred resources" have a
great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to whether
they can be mined legally or economically. It cannot be assumed
that all or any part of "inferred resources" will ever be upgraded
to a higher category. Therefore, US investors are also cautioned
not to assume that all or any part of inferred resources exist, or
that they can be mined legally or economically. Accordingly,
information concerning descriptions of mineralization and resources
contained in this news release may not be comparable to information
made public by US companies subject to the reporting and disclosure
requirements of the SEC.
Contact: Cindy Burnett, VP,
Investor Relations and Communications, 604-637-8157,
cburnett@capstonemining.com