Vancouver, British Columbia – Capstone Mining Corp. ("Capstone") (TSX: CS) today announced operating results for the three and six months ending June 30, 2014 of its three operating mines: Pinto Valley, Cozamin and Minto. Combined production totalled 27,700 and 55,300 tonnes of copper (in concentrates and cathode) in the second quarter and year-to-date periods, respectively, with additional by-products of zinc, molybdenum, lead, silver and gold.
Q2 2014 Production (tonnes)
Totals may not add due to rounding. (1) Total production includes copper in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"At the midway mark of the year our copper production is on plan with all operations performing well," said Darren Pylot, President and CEO of Capstone. "With operations at Pinto Valley now fully ramped up and essentially stabilized at targeted throughput rates we can direct all of our focus on continued cost and business improvements at Pinto Valley."
Operational Highlights
- Pinto Valley grade and recoveries more than offset lower than planned throughput. One of the six ball mills was down for 25 days in May, as a result of a gear failure. Repairs were completed by June 4, and the mill operated at capacity for the month of June.
- At Cozamin, strong throughput offset slightly lower grade than planned. Grade is forecasted to improve in the third quarter in accordance with the 2014 mine plan.
- At Minto, lower grade than expected in the open pit was largely offset by continuing very strong throughput and recoveries. The mill achieved a quarterly throughput record of 4,124 tonnes per day. Ore from the underground M-Zone began feeding the mill in April, with grade and tonnage as planned.
- Payable copper shipped for the quarter from all three mines was 24,564 tonnes.
Q2 2014 Operating Details
| Pinto Valley | Cozamin | Minto | ||||
| Q2 | YTD 2014 | Q2 | YTD 2014 | Q2 | YTD 2014 | |
| Contained Copper Production(1) (contained in concentrates and cathode) | ||||||
| – Copper in concentrate (tonnes) | 16,892 | 33,593 | 5,191 | 10,292 | 5,130 | 10,350 |
| – Copper cathode (tonnes) | 526 | 1,147 | – | – | – | – |
| – Zinc (tonnes) | – | – | 1,728 | 3,360 | – | – |
| – Molybdenum (Mo tonnes) | 24 | 49 | – | – | – | – |
| – Lead (tonnes) | – | – | 229 | 745 | – | – |
| – Silver (ounces) | * | * | 422,174 | 874,278 | 50,551 | 108,402 |
| – Gold (ounces)(2) | – | – | – | – | 5,185 | 10,313 |
| Payable Copper Production(1)(tonnes) (in concentrate and cathode) | 16,843 | 33,595(3) | 4,964 | 9,835 | 4,963 | 10,014 |
| Mine | ||||||
| – Ore (tonnes) – open pit | 4,862,433 | 10,468,564 | – | – | 133,315 | 388,448 |
| – Waste (tonnes) | 554,648 | 555,374 | – | – | 1,063,967 | 1,897,170 |
| – Ore (tonnes) – underground | – | – | 303,289 | 613,033 | 79,151 | 97,581 |
| Mill | ||||||
| – Tonnes processed | 4,162,409 | 8,373,414 | 313,557 | 621,482 | 375,317 | 727,970 |
| – Tonnes processed per day | 45,741 | 46,262 | 3,446 | 3,434 | 4,124 | 4,022 |
| – Copper grade (%) | 0.46(3) | 0.45(3) | 1.79 | 1.79 | 1.45 | 1.51 |
| – Zinc grade (%) | – | – | 0.94 | 0.91 | – | – |
| – Molybdenum grade (%) | 0.0107 | 0.0117 | – | – | – | – |
| – Lead grade (%) | – | – | 0.16 | 0.22 | – | – |
| – Silver grade (g/t) | * | * | 59.48 | 61.22 | 5.13 | 5.68 |
| – Gold grade (g/t) | – | – | – | – | 0.55 | 0.57 |
| Recoveries | ||||||
| – Copper (%) | 89.1(3) | 88.4(3) | 92.7 | 92.5 | 94.2 | 93.9 |
| – Zinc (%) | – | – | 58.7 | 59.6 | – | – |
| – Lead (%) | – | – | 44.7 | 54.6 | – | – |
| – Silver (%) | * | * | 70.4 | 71.5 | 81.7 | 81.6 |
| – Gold (%) | – | – | – | – | 77.6 | 76.7 |
| Concentrates(2) | ||||||
| – Copper concentrate (dmt) | 55,670 | 111,342 | 20,126 | 40,800 | 13,322 | 26,860 |
| Copper (%) | 30.3 | 30.2 | 25.8 | 25.2 | 38.5 | 38.5 |
| Silver (g/t) | * | * | 604.0 | 593.0 | 118.0 | 125.5 |
| Gold (g/t) | – | – | – | – | 12.1 | 11.9 |
| – Zinc concentrate (dmt) | – | – | 3,624 | 7,155 | – | – |
| Zinc (%) | – | – | 47.7 | 47.0 | – | – |
| – Molybdenum concentrate (dmt) | 49 | 99 | – | – | – | – |
| – Lead concentrate (dmt) | – | – | 392 | 1,211 | – | – |
| Lead (%) | – | – | 58.4 | 61.5 | – | – |
| Silver (g/t) | – | – | 2,471 | 2,459 | – | – |
| Payable Copper Shipped (tonnes) (in concentrate and cathode) | 15,735 | 31,165 | 5,208 | 9,916 | 3,621 | 10,083 |
(1) Adjustments based on final settlements will be made in future periods. (2) 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. Year-to-date includes a 38 tonne adjustment to payable copper related to inventory and final settlements for Pinto Valley. *Silver production at Pinto Valley is not yet available since assays are conducted offsite. Capstone will commence reporting of Pinto Valley silver starting later in 2014.
Production Outlook
Capstone's 2014 guidance for 102,000 tonnes ±5% of copper in concentrates, at a C1 cash cost(1) of US$1.90 to US$2.00 per pound of payable copper, net of by-product credits and selling costs, remains unchanged.
Financial Results Timing
Capstone will report Q2 2014 financial results on Thursday August 7, 2014 after market close, followed by a conference call and webcast for investors and analysts on Friday, August 8, 2014 at 11:30 am Eastern Time (8:30 am Pacific Time).
Conference Call and Webcast Details
| Date: | Friday, August 8, 2014 | |
| 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://www.newswire.ca/en/webcast/detail/1371699/1520925 | |
| Replay: | North America: 1-888-390-0541, International: +416-764-8677 | |
| Replay Passcode: | 057773 |
The conference call replay will be available until August 22, 2014. The conference call audio and transcript will be available on Capstone's website within approximately 24 hours of the call athttp://capstonemining.com/s/conference-calls.asp.
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 continue to grow with mineral resource and reserve expansions and exploration, and 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.
For further information please contact:
Cindy Burnett, VP, Investor Relations and Communications
604-637-8157
[email protected]
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 "scheduled", "guidance", "plan", "planned", "estimated", "projections", "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 actual results of current exploration activities; 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 Brad Skeeles, P. Eng., Vice President of North American Operations, and Gregg Bush, P. Eng., Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, both Qualified Persons under NI 43-101.
Alternative Performance Measures
The item marked with (1) "C1 Cash Cost per Pound of Payable Copper Produced" is an Alternative Performance Measure. This performance measure is included because this statistic is a key performance measure that management uses to monitor performance. Management uses this statistic to assess how the Company is performing to plan and to assess the overall effectiveness and efficiency of mining operations. This performance measure does not have a meaning within IFRS and, therefore, amounts presented may not be comparable to similar data presented by other mining companies. This performance measure should not be considered in isolation as a substitute for measures of performance in accordance with IFRS.
