VANCOUVER, Oct. 11, 2018 /CNW/ - Capstone Mining Corp.
("Capstone" or the "Company") (TSX: CS) and Pembridge Resources plc
("Pembridge") have elected to terminate the agreement for the sale
of the Minto Mine ("Minto") (the "Transaction"). Due to
unfavourable equity market conditions, Pembridge has been
unsuccessful in completing the financing required to complete the
Transaction. Additionally, to preserve Minto's value, Capstone is putting
Minto on temporary care and
maintenance, while continuing to explore value maximizing
alternatives, including discussions with Pembridge and other
potentially interested parties.
Mining operations will cease imminently with milling operations
expected to be completed in the next few weeks once the current ore
stockpile is processed. Costs to place the mine on care and
maintenance are estimated to be approximately US$5 million in each of 2018 and 2019, with the
ongoing costs expected to be under US$4
million annually thereafter for environmental compliance and
other activities. Approximately 200 employees and contractors will
be affected. Minto will retain a
core team of employees to oversee the site and meet environmental
monitoring and legal obligations during the care and maintenance
phase.
"The decision to put Minto on
care and maintenance while we seek alternatives is to preserve and
maximize its value," said Darren
Pylot, President and Chief Executive Officer of Capstone.
"The team will ensure Minto can be
restarted efficiently and safely once the copper and equity markets
improve. Minto has been an
important part of Capstone's history and we thank the team at
Minto for their commitment and
dedication."
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 two
producing mines are the Pinto Valley copper mine located in
Arizona, US and the Cozamin
polymetallic mine in Zacatecas State, Mexico. In addition, Capstone has the large
scale 70% owned copper-iron Santo
Domingo development project in Region III, Chile, in partnership with Korea Resources
Corporation, the Minto copper mine
in Yukon, Canada currently on care
and maintenance, as well as a portfolio of exploration properties.
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 timing and anticipated
cost of care and maintenance activities at Minto. 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 "potentially", "expected" and "estimated". 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 the operation and closure of mining projects,
future prices of copper and other metals, changes in general
economic conditions, 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.
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SOURCE Capstone Mining Corp.