VANCOUVER, April 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Capstone
Mining Corp. ("Capstone") (TSX: CS) today announced production
results for the three months ended March 31,
2017. Combined production totalled 20,900 tonnes of copper,
with additional by-products of zinc, molybdenum, lead, silver and
gold.
Q1 2017 Copper Production (tonnes)
|
|
Pinto
Valley
|
11,300
|
Cozamin
|
4,100
|
Minto
|
5,500
|
Total copper
production (1)
|
20,900
|
(1) Total
production includes copper in concentrate and cathode
production.
|
"The first quarter was challenging at Pinto Valley," said
Darren Pylot, President and CEO of
Capstone. "The heavy rain early in the year reduced the throughput
capacity of the crusher and ultimately caused us to advance our
decision to proceed with the primary crusher mainframe replacement.
The rains also had an impact on grade, as we had to adjust our mine
plan given the water in the pit."
"At the same time, we made some adjustments to optimize our mine
plan at Minto to both capitalize
on short term opportunities as well as lay the groundwork to extend
operations beyond this year," continued Mr. Pylot. "Cozamin was a
bright spot, performing better than expected for the quarter."
Operational Highlights
- Copper production at Pinto Valley was impacted by a 7-day
planned shutdown in January to complete repairs in the fine ore
bins and the tailing thickener distribution system. Production was
also impacted by considerable rain in the first quarter, with Pinto
Valley receiving five inches of rain over a two day period in late
January, followed by additional rainfall in the following weeks.
The heavy rains reduced mining productivity and slowed the primary
crusher intake, delaying the return to full operations from the
planned shutdown. Mine plan sequencing was changed to address high
moisture in the bottom of the pit with more ore coming from the
lower grade foothills area. Following the shutdown, saturated fine
ore placed additional stress on the primary crusher mainframe. As a
result, the lower frame replacement, originally deferred from Q2
2016, was done over 11 days in late February and early March.
Temporary primary crushing units allowed for production at reduced
rates. Full production resumed on March
9 and since then throughput has averaged 58,900 tonnes per
day as of April 9.
- At Cozamin, grade and throughput were both better than expected
for the quarter, with recovery as planned. Significant progress has
been made in development rates with ongoing positive results from
the process and contractor changes made in 2016.
- At Minto, grade for the
quarter was lower than originally planned due to mine plan
sequencing changes affecting timing of ore to the mill. A number of
changes were made to optimize the mine plan in anticipation of the
extension of operations at Minto
beyond 2017 and to reduce re-handling costs. As a result, more low
grade partially oxidized ore was directed to the mill causing
recoveries to be slightly behind plan, offset by higher
throughput.
Q1 2017 Operating Details
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pinto
Valley
|
Cozamin
|
Minto
|
Total
|
Contained
Production (1)
|
- Copper
(tonnes)
|
11,300
|
4,131
|
5,520
|
20,950
|
- Zinc
(tonnes)
|
-
|
1,258
|
-
|
1,258
|
- Molybdenum (Mo
tonnes)
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
- Lead
(tonnes)
|
-
|
19
|
-
|
19
|
- Silver
(ounces)
|
61,481
|
261,622
|
56,385
|
379,488
|
- Gold (ounces)
(2)
|
2,840
|
-
|
8,627
|
11,467
|
Payable Copper
Production (1) (tonnes) (in concentrate and
cathode)
|
10,920
|
3,970
|
5,340
|
20,231
|
Mine
|
- Ore (tonnes) – open
pit
|
4,437,029
|
-
|
43,242
|
4,480,271
|
- Waste
(tonnes)
|
6,384,301
|
-
|
2,008,027
|
8,392,328
|
- Ore (tonnes) –
underground
|
-
|
236,802
|
68,082
|
304,884
|
Mill
|
- Tonnes
processed
|
4,177,083
|
234,223
|
368,321
|
4,779,627
|
- Tonnes processed
per day
|
46,412
|
2,602
|
4,092
|
53,107
|
- Copper grade
(%)
|
0.31(3)
|
1.84
|
1.68
|
0.49
|
- Zinc grade
(%)
|
-
|
0.78
|
-
|
0.78
|
- Molybdenum grade
(%)
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
0.005
|
- Lead grade
(%)
|
-
|
0.07
|
-
|
0.07
|
- Silver grade
(g/t)
|
*
|
46
|
6
|
21
|
- Gold grade
(g/t)
|
*
|
-
|
1.51
|
1.51
|
Recoveries
(%)
|
- Copper
|
83.8(3)
|
95.9
|
89.3
|
87.5
|
- Zinc
|
-
|
68.8
|
-
|
68.8
|
- Lead
|
-
|
12.3
|
-
|
12.3
|
- Silver
|
*
|
76.0
|
82.3
|
77.0
|
- Gold
|
*
|
-
|
48.3
|
48.3
|
Concentrates
|
- Copper concentrate
(dmt)
|
38,276
|
15,029
|
11,897
|
65,203
|
|
Copper
(%)
|
28.3
|
27.5
|
46.4
|
31.4
|
|
Silver
(g/t)
|
*
|
534
|
147
|
363
|
|
Gold (g/t)
|
*
|
-
|
22.55
|
22.55
|
- Zinc concentrate
(dmt)
|
-
|
2,635
|
-
|
2,635
|
|
Zinc (%)
|
-
|
47.7
|
-
|
47.7
|
- Molybdenum
concentrate (dmt)
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
- Lead concentrate
(dmt)
|
-
|
30
|
-
|
30
|
|
Lead (%)
|
-
|
64.4
|
-
|
64.4
|
|
Silver
(g/t)
|
-
|
3,526
|
-
|
3,526
|
Payable Copper
Shipped (tonnes)
|
12,403
|
4,064
|
5,115
|
21,582
|
|
(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.
|
Operating Outlook
Capstone's 2017 production guidance for 94,000 tonnes (±5%) of
copper remains unchanged as Minto
and Cozamin are expected to complete the year on, or slightly
above, plan and Pinto Valley is expected to attain higher run rates
for the remainder of 2017 since the major planned maintenance
activity was completed in the first quarter.
Financial Results Timing
Capstone will report Q1 2017 financial results on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 after market close,
followed by a conference call and webcast for investors and
analysts on Wednesday, April 26, 2017
at 11:30 am Eastern Time
(8:30 am Pacific Time).
Conference Call and Webcast Details
Date:
|
Wednesday, April 26,
2017
|
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=1383293&s=1&k=8C2CB279A9CAA1477A4D9A6573F75350
|
Replay:
|
North America:
1-888-390-0541, International: +416-764-8677
|
Replay
Passcode:
|
472544#
|
The conference call replay will be available until Wednesday, May 3, 2017. The conference call audio
and transcript will be available on Capstone's website within
approximately 48 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
polymetallic mine in Zacatecas State, Mexico and the Minto copper mine in Yukon, Canada. In addition, Capstone has two
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 Kutcho copper-zinc
project in British Columbia,
Canada, as well as exploration properties in Chile and US. Capstone's strategy is to focus
on the optimization of operations and assets in politically stable,
mining-friendly regions, centred in the Americas. 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 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 our expectations or beliefs regarding
future events. Forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, statements with respect to the estimation of mineral
resources and mineral reserves, the realization of mineral reserve
estimates, the timing and amount of estimated future production,
costs of production and capital expenditures, the success of our
mining operations, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation
expenses and title disputes. In certain cases, forward-looking
statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans",
"expects", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts",
"intends", "anticipates", "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 "anticipation", "guidance", "plan" and
"expected". By their very nature, forward-looking statements
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to
be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking
statements. Such factors include, amongst others, risks related to
inherent hazards associated with mining operations, assumptions
related to geotechnical condition of tailings facilities, future
prices of copper and other metals, compliance with financial
covenants, surety bonding, our ability to raise capital,
counterparty risks associated with sales of our metals, use of
financial derivative instruments and associated counterparty risks,
foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, changes in general
economic conditions, accuracy of mineral resource and mineral
reserve estimates, operating in foreign jurisdictions with risk of
changes to governmental regulation, compliance with governmental
regulations, compliance with environmental laws and regulations,
reliance on approvals, licences and permits from governmental
authorities, impact of climatic conditions on our Pinto Valley,
Cozamin and Minto operations,
aboriginal title claims and rights to consultation and
accommodation, land reclamation and mine closure obligations,
uncertainties and risks related to the potential development of the
Santo Domingo Project, increased operating and capital costs,
challenges to title to our mineral properties, dependence on key
management personnel, potential conflicts of interest involving our
directors and officers, corruption and bribery, limitations
inherent in our insurance coverage, labour relations, increasing
energy prices, competition in the mining industry, risks associated
with joint venture partners, our ability to integrate new
acquisitions into our operations, cybersecurity threats 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 our actual results, performance or achievements to differ
materially from those described in our forward-looking statements,
there may be other factors that cause our results, performance or
achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There
can be no assurance that our forward-looking statements will prove
to be accurate, as our actual results, performance or achievements
could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on our
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.