Capstone Second Quarter Production Results
VANCOUVER, July 6, 2011 /CNW/ --
Second Quarter Production of 21.2 million pounds of Copper in Concentrates
VANCOUVER, July 6, 2011 /CNW/ - Capstone Mining Corp. (TSX: CS) today announced its operating results
for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 from its two operating
mines, Cozamin and Minto. Combined production totalled 21.2 and 37.9
million pounds of copper in concentrates in the second quarter and
first six months, respectively, with additional by-products of lead,
zinc, silver and gold.
'We are very pleased to report a 27% increase in production over the
first quarter of this year,' said Darren Pylot, President and CEO of
Capstone. 'We achieved quarterly throughput records at both Cozamin
and Minto, and a quarterly copper production record at Cozamin. With
both mines now running on plan, we are on target to meet our full year
2011 guidance of 80-85 million pounds of copper in concentrates,'
continued Mr. Pylot.
Q2 2011 Production
_______________________________________________
| |Q1 2011|Q2 2011|YTD 2011|
|______________________|_______|_______|________|
|Copper in concentrates| | | |
|(millions of pounds) | | | |
|______________________|_______|_______|________|
|- Cozamin | 8.6 | 10.4 | 19.0 |
|______________________|_______|_______|________|
|- Minto | 8.1 | 10.8 | 18.9 |
|______________________|_______|_______|________|
|Total | 16.7 | 21.2 | 37.9 |
|______________________|_______|_______|________|
Operational Highlights for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011
The following is a summary of operational highlights for Capstone during
the three and six months, respectively, ended June 30, 2011:
-- Production of 21.2 and 37.9 million pounds of copper contained
in concentrates, respectively.
-- By-product production of 4.5 and 8.7 million pounds of zinc,
1.0 and 1.7 million pounds of lead and 479,690 and 847,396
ounces of silver in concentrates, respectively. Final gold
production is not available since assaying is done off site,
but is estimated at 6,842 and 9,437 ounces for the respective
periods.
-- At Cozamin, remediation activities in the mine were completed
in March, allowing production from the Avoca and 11E stopes to
proceed at planned levels. This contributed to higher mined
and processed tonnages for the second quarter relative to the
first quarter.
-- At Minto, production exceeded expectations due to the
successful implementation of pre-crushing for the SAG mill
feed.
o The implementation of contract pre-crushing starting in mid-April
allowed mill throughput to exceed expectations. May mill
throughput set a monthly record of 115,913 tonnes, or 3,739
tonnes/day, and June throughput has continued above plan.
o Mill grades were higher than planned in the second quarter due to
the delayed entry into the final stage of the Main Pit (Stage 5).
Mining of Stage 5, originally planned for the first quarter, was
completed in late-April with ore production slightly exceeding
expectations. As a result, less lower grade stockpile material was
processed in the second quarter.
o Higher mill throughput and grade was partially offset by reduced
mill recovery. The reduced recovery is partly due to higher
throughput and attendant reduced retention time in the floatation
circuit. However, issues with the efficiency of the scavenger
flotation circuit have been identified and are being corrected,
with measurable improvement seen by late-June.
-- Minto received the amended Quartz Mining License in April and
Area 2 pre-stripping and development of the underground portal
is proceeding.
Q2 Operating Details
_________________________________________________________________
| | Cozamin | Minto |
|_________________________________|_______________|_______________|
| | Q2 | YTD | Q2 | YTD |
| | 2011 | 2011 | 2011 | 2011 |
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
|Production( (1)) | | | | |
|(contained in concentrates) | | | | |
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Copper (000s pounds) | 10,398| 19,007| 10,807| 18,871|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Lead (000s pounds) | 987| 1,745| -| -|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Zinc (000s pounds) | 4,523| 8,698| -| -|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Silver (ounces) |413,579|739,061| 66,111|108,335|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Gold (ounces) | -| -| 6,512| 9,437|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
|Mine | | | | |
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Tonnes of ore mined |284,063|510,194|287,011|580,470|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
|Mill | | | | |
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Tonnes processed |271,387|497,442|320,144|578,301|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Tonnes processed per day | 2,982| 2,748| 3,518| 3,195|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Copper grade (%) | 1.87| 1.87| 1.73| 1.64|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Lead grade (%) | 0.26| 0.24| -| -|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Zinc grade (%) | 1.12| 1.15| -| -|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Silver grade (g/t) | 65.3| 63.9| 8.4| 7.4|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Gold grade (g/t) | -| -| 0.83| 0.68|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
|Recoveries | | | | |
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Copper (%) | 92.9| 92.7| 88.5| 90.1|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Lead (%) | 64.3| 65.0| -| -|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Zinc (%) | 67.7| 68.7| -| -|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Silver (%) | 72.6| 72.3| 76.9| 78.5|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Gold grade (%) | -| -| 80.3| 75.1|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
|Concentrates ((1)) | | | | |
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Copper concentrates (dmt)| 17,839| 32,510| 13,580| 23,342|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Copper (%) | 26.4| 26.5| 36.1| 36.7|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Silver (g/t) | 636| 620| 151| 144|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Gold (g/t) | -| -| 15.7| 12.6|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Lead concentrates(dmt) | 712| 1,245| -| -|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Lead (%) | 62.9| 63.6| -| -|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Silver (g/t) | 2,157| 2,285| -| -|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Zinc concentrates (dmt) | 4,157| 8,101| -| -|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
| -- Zinc (%) | 49.3| 48.7| -| -|
|_________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|
(1) Adjustments based on final settlements will be made in future
periods.
Outlook
Based on the significantly improved operating results in the second
quarter, Capstone reaffirms full year 2011 guidance of 80-85 million
pounds of copper in concentrates. Cozamin production is expected to
continue to stabilize at higher levels as additional stopes are placed
into production to provide for increased flexibility in mine planning.
At Minto, contract pre-crushing will continue until permanent
improvements are implemented later in the year. It is expected that
this will allow Minto to maintain the increased throughput for the
remainder of the year rather than the gradual ramp-up in tonnage
previously expected with the completion of the crushing circuit
modifications planned for the fourth quarter.
Q2 Financial Results Timing
Capstone will report 2011 second quarter financial results on Monday,
August 15, 2011 after market close, followed by a conference call for
investors and analysts on Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at 11:30 am Eastern
time (8:30 am Pacific time).
Conference Call and Webcast Details
Date: Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Time: 11:30 am Eastern Time (8:30 am Pacific Time)
Dial in: North America -- 1.888.231.8191, International --
1.647.427.7450
Webcast: http://www.newswire.ca/en/webcast/viewEvent.cgi?eventID=3595240
Replay: North America -- 1.800.642.1687, International --
1.416.849.0833
Replay Passcode: 81625702
The conference call replay will be available until August 25, 2011. A
transcript of the call will also be made available on Capstone's
website (http://capstonemining.com/s/ConferenceCalls.asp) within 24 hours of the call.
About Capstone Mining Corp.
Capstone Mining Corp. is a TSX listed Canadian mining company with two
producing copper mines in the Americas: the Cozamin
copper-silver-zinc-lead mine located in Zacatecas State, Mexico and the
Minto copper-gold-silver mine in Yukon, Canada.
Using its operations as a springboard, Capstone aims to grow organically
and through acquisitions in politically stable, mining-friendly
jurisdictions, with a focus in the Americas: organic growth through
continued mineral resource and reserve expansions as well as expanding
operations at its operating mines, development of its large 70% owned
Santo Domingo copper-iron-gold project in Chile in partnership with
Korea Resources Corporation, development of its Kutcho
copper-zinc-gold-silver project in British Columbia and exploration at
properties in Chile, British Columbia and Australia. Capstone's cash
flow and strong balance sheet provide the platform to enhance that
growth profile. Capstone is included in the S&P/TSX Composite Index and
S&P/TSX Global Mining Index. Additional 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 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', 'budget', 'scheduled', 'estimates',
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'will be taken', 'occur' or 'be achieved' or the negative of these
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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, labour disputes and other risks of the mining
industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in
the completion of development or construction activities; 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 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.
43-101 Compliance
Unless otherwise indicated, Capstone has prepared the technical
information in this news release ('Technical Information') based on
information contained in the technical reports and news releases
(collectively the 'Disclosure Documents') available under Capstone
Mining Corp.'s company profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Each Disclosure Document 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'). Readers are
encouraged to review the full text of the Disclosure Documents which
qualifies the Technical Information. Readers are advised that mineral
resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated
economic viability. The Disclosure Documents are each intended to be
read as a whole, and sections should not be read or relied upon out of
context. The Technical Information is subject to the assumptions and
qualifications contained in the Disclosure Documents.
John Sagman, P. Eng., Capstone's Vice President, Technical Services, a
Qualified Person, reviewed all Technical Information contained in this
news release. In addition, Gregg Bush, Senior Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer for Capstone, reviewed all Technical Information in
this news release.
To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2011/06/c3550.html
Capstone Mining Corp.
Cindy Burnett, VP, Investor Relations
Telephone: 604-637-8157
Email: cburnett@capstonemining.com
Website: www.capstonemining.com