(All amounts in US$ unless otherwise
specified)
VANCOUVER, April 21, 2017 /CNW/ - Capstone Mining Corp.
("Capstone") (TSX: CS) has amended its Senior Secured Corporate
Revolving Credit Facility ("RCF") to provide for an extension to
April 19, 2021 and a reduction in the
credit available under the facility.
The amendment:
- Extends the maturity of the Third Amended and Restated Credit
Agreement from January 16, 2019 to
April 19, 2021;
- Reduces the credit limit to $350
million on April 19, 2017 and
requires an annual $25 million
reduction on each anniversary of the facility to $275 million on April 19,
2020;
- Maintains the current pricing grid (starting at LIBOR + 2.5%
and adjustable to LIBOR + 3.5% depending on the total leverage
ratio) until March 31, 2019, after
which date pricing increases to LIBOR + 3.0% (adjustable to LIBOR +
4.5% depending on the total leverage ratio); and
- Cancels the accordion feature of $60
million.
All other material terms and conditions of the existing RCF
remain in place for the life of the facility.
In addition to the amendment described above, Capstone repaid
$10 million on April 19, 2017, reducing drawn debt to
$298.9 million.
"This extension of our current low-cost, flexible credit
facility, gives Capstone significant financial flexibility and
right sizes the facility to meet our current and anticipated
operating requirements," said Darren
Pylot, President and CEO of Capstone. "Our current drawn
debt of approximately $300 million is
comfortably within this amended availability and we have a cash
balance of over $100 million."
"We plan to apply free cash from operations to reduce debt to a
sustainable level at commodity prices that reflect bottom of the
cycle prices, which will provide an additional cushion of undrawn
credit," continued Mr. Pylot. "This effectively addresses financing
risk over the term of the facility, which we believe will
correspond to a stabilization and gradual improvement in copper
prices."
The amendment of the facility was led by The Bank of
Nova Scotia (Co-Lead Arranger,
Joint Bookrunner and Administrative Agent), the Canadian Imperial
Bank of Commerce (Co-Lead Arranger, Joint Bookrunner and
Syndication Agent) and Wells Fargo Bank N.A., Canadian Branch
(Documentation Agent). Other syndicate lenders include Citibank,
N.A.; Export Development Canada; Bank of Montreal; and ING Capital LLC.
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, future prices
of copper and other metals, compliance with financial covenants,
surety bonding, our ability to raise capital, Capstone's ability to
acquire properties for growth, 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, legal proceedings 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.
SOURCE Capstone Mining Corp.