Third quarter production of 22,100 tonnes of
copper
VANCOUVER, Oct. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - Capstone
Mining Corp. ("Capstone") (TSX: CS) today announced production
results for the three and nine months ending September 30, 2015. Combined production totalled
22,100 and 66,900 tonnes of copper in the third quarter and
year-to-date periods, respectively, with additional by-products of
zinc, molybdenum, lead, silver and gold.
Q3 2015 Copper Production (tonnes)
|
Q1
|
Q2
|
Q3
|
YTD
2015
|
Pinto
Valley
|
15,800
|
14,300
|
14,000
|
44,100
|
Cozamin
|
3,800
|
2,700
|
4,300
|
10,800
|
Minto
|
4,100
|
4,100
|
3,800
|
12,000
|
Total copper
production
|
23,700
|
21,100
|
22,100
|
66,900
|
"Production for the third quarter met our expectations and we
remain on track to meet our overall 2015 production guidance, with
Minto operating above expectations
for the quarter and Pinto Valley and Cozamin overcoming earlier
production challenges," said Darren
Pylot, President and CEO of Capstone. "We are particularly
pleased that the operational improvements at Pinto Valley are
starting to be realized, achieving a monthly throughput record for
Capstone in September."
Operational Highlights
- At Pinto Valley, production was on plan for the quarter and
remains on track for the year with better than predicted block
grades and recoveries continuing to offset throughput. In the third
quarter, throughput was negatively affected by six days of downtime
in August for repairs to the primary crusher. Excluding the August
down days associated with a single incident, throughput for the
operating days in the quarter averaged 49,800 tonnes per day
("tpd") and the month of September averaged 52,400 tpd for the full
month, surpassing the 52,000 tpd throughput target. The run rate
exiting the quarter was very strong, with throughput averaging
56,500 tpd for the last 10 days of September and averaging over
55,300 tpd for the first 10 days of October. The current mine plan
calls for copper grade to increase to 0.38% for the fourth
quarter.
- At Cozamin, activities related to dilution control produced a
significant improvement in grade for the quarter and recoveries
returned to planned levels. Throughput improved each month during
the quarter as the mine made good progress in catching up
development and long-hole inventory shortfalls carried forward from
earlier in the year.
- At Minto, grades and
recoveries were on plan for the quarter as the mill returned to
processing solely underground and stockpiled ore while
transitioning to the next open pit mining area. Throughput,
however, significantly outperformed, allowing production to
continue above plan in the third quarter. The Yukon Water Board
issued the final Water Use Licence on August
5, 2015, and stripping of the Minto North open pit commenced
immediately. Stripping of Minto North is on schedule for first ore
to the mill starting in December
2015, with high grade ore commencing in the second quarter
of 2016. The mill will continue to process underground and
stockpiled ore while stripping is taking place.
Q3 2015 Operating Details
|
Pinto
Valley
|
Cozamin
|
Minto
|
|
Q3
|
YTD
2015
|
Q3
|
YTD
2015
|
Q3
|
YTD
2015
|
Contained
Production (1)
|
- Copper in
concentrate and cathode (tonnes)
|
13,979
|
44,054
|
4,301
|
10,767
|
3,829
|
12,065
|
- Zinc
(tonnes)
|
-
|
-
|
1,452
|
4,516
|
-
|
-
|
- Molybdenum (Mo
tonnes)
|
26.4
|
88.8
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
- Lead
(tonnes)
|
-
|
-
|
107
|
580
|
-
|
-
|
- Silver
(ounces)
|
61,096
|
197,241
(2)
|
342,899
|
886,940
|
40,512
|
117,644
|
- Gold (ounces)
(3)
|
252
|
1,002
|
-
|
-
|
4,098
|
11,794
|
Payable Copper
Production (1) (tonnes)
(in
concentrate and cathode)
|
13,517
|
42,587
|
4,119
|
10,300
|
3,704
|
11,673
|
Mine
|
- Ore (tonnes) – open
pit
|
6,047,249
|
17,293,117
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
170,782
|
- Waste
(tonnes)
|
3,986,248
|
8,281,060
|
-
|
-
|
1,944,585
|
2,045,860
|
- Ore (tonnes) –
underground
|
-
|
-
|
250,030
|
790,823
|
111,361
|
324,340
|
Mill
|
- Tonnes
processed
|
4,337,329
|
12,752,090
|
240,078
|
784,255
|
356,782
|
1,044,976
|
- Tonnes processed
per day
|
47,145
|
46,711
|
2,610
|
2,873
|
3,878
|
3,828
|
- Copper grade
(%)
|
0.35
(4)
|
0.38
(4)
|
1.90
|
1.48
|
1.28
|
1.36
|
- Zinc grade
(%)
|
-
|
-
|
0.90
|
0.88
|
-
|
-
|
- Molybdenum grade
(%)
|
0.006
|
0.007
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
- Lead grade
(%)
|
-
|
-
|
0.12
|
0.16
|
-
|
-
|
- Silver grade
(g/t)
|
*
|
*
|
62
|
51
|
5
|
5
|
- Gold grade
(g/t)
|
*
|
*
|
-
|
-
|
0.49
|
0.49
|
Recoveries
|
- Copper
(%)
|
89.2
(4)
|
87.8
(4)
|
94.5
|
92.5
|
83.7
|
84.8
|
- Zinc (%)
|
-
|
-
|
67.0
|
65.3
|
-
|
-
|
- Lead (%)
|
-
|
-
|
35.9
|
47.7
|
-
|
-
|
- Silver
(%)
|
*
|
*
|
71.5
|
69.6
|
74.8
|
75.3
|
- Gold (%)
|
*
|
*
|
-
|
-
|
72.4
|
72.2
|
Concentrates
(3)
|
- Copper concentrate
(dmt)
|
45,277
|
146,162
|
16,162
|
41,534
|
10,088
|
33,228
|
Copper (%)
|
29.7
|
29.0
|
26.6
|
25.9
|
38.0
|
36.3
|
Silver (g/t)
|
*
|
*
|
624
|
592
|
125
|
110
|
Gold (g/t)
|
*
|
*
|
-
|
-
|
12.64
|
11.04
|
- Zinc concentrate
(dmt)
|
-
|
-
|
3,041
|
9,546
|
-
|
-
|
Zinc (%)
|
-
|
-
|
47.7
|
47.3
|
-
|
-
|
- Molybdenum
concentrate (dmt)
|
59
|
184
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
- Lead concentrate
(dmt)
|
-
|
-
|
184
|
973
|
-
|
-
|
Lead (%)
|
-
|
-
|
58.0
|
59.6
|
-
|
-
|
Silver (g/t)
|
-
|
-
|
3,120
|
3,084
|
-
|
-
|
Payable Copper
Shipped (tonnes)
|
15,311
|
42,940
|
3,312
|
10,497
|
6,022
|
11,762
|
|
(1) Adjustments
based on final settlements will be made in future periods. (2) YTD
silver has been adjusted to reflect reconciliations in Q1 and Q2
2015. (3) 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. (4) 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, with C1 cash
cost (1) lowered to $1.95 to
$2.05 per pound of payable copper produced net of by-product
credits and selling costs, from $2.00 to
$2.10 originally guided for 2015.
Financial Results Timing
Capstone will report Q3 2015
financial results on Tuesday, October 27,
2015 after market close, followed by a conference call and
webcast for investors and analysts on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at 11:30 am Eastern Time (8:30 am Pacific Time).
Conference Call and Webcast Details
Date:
|
Wednesday, October
28, 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=1038558&s=1&k=1254FEDB54C1081882502320EE278DC1
|
Replay:
|
North America:
1-888-390-0541, International: +416-764-8677
|
Replay
Passcode:
|
845615#
|
The conference call replay will be available until Wednesday, November 11, 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/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,
maintain optionality on the Santo
Domingo development project, prudently progress the
exploration portfolio 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", "calls for" 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 Gregg Bush, P. Eng., Capstone Senior Vice
President and Chief Operating Officer, a Qualified Person under NI
43-101.
SOURCE Capstone Mining Corp.