Capstone Appoints Santo Domingo General Manager and Awards EIS Contract
VANCOUVER, Sept. 14, 2011 /CNW/ --
Juan Carlos Alfaro Appointed General Manager of Chilean Operating Subsidiary;
Knight Piésold awarded contract for preparation of Santo Domingo
Environmental Impact Study;
Drilling Program Underway at Santo Domingo Site
VANCOUVER, Sept. 14, 2011 /CNW/ - Capstone Mining Corp. (TSX: CS) today
announced the appointment of Juan Carlos Alfaro as General Manager of
Capstone's 70% owned Chilean operating subsidiary, with responsibility
for the development of Capstone's Santo Domingo Iron Oxide-Copper-Gold
('IOCG') project ('Santo Domingo' or the 'Project') in Region III,
Chile. The Project is owned 70% by Capstone and 30% by Korea Resources
Corporation ('KORES').
Capstone also announced the awarding of the contract for the Santo
Domingo Environmental Impact Study ('EIS') to Knight Piésold S.A.
('Knight Piésold'), to be led by its Santiago office. They will also
coordinate the evaluation process through to permitting.
'We are very fortunate to have an executive of Juan Carlos' experience
join us to oversee our operations in Chile,' said Darren Pylot,
President and CEO of Capstone. 'He is well known in Chile and in the
area of the Santo Domingo Project, having spent much of his career in
the mining industry in Chile and more specifically in Region III, with
projects owned by Barrick, Kinross, Placer Dome, Minera Mantos de Oro
and Codelco. We expect to advance the project rapidly under his
leadership.'
'In addition, Knight Piésold has the EIS well underway and is on track
to submit the permit applications to the Chilean regulatory authorities
in the fourth quarter of 2012, in accordance with the schedule
contemplated in the Pre-Feasibility Study,' continued Mr. Pylot. 'In
addition, geotechnical drilling required for the Feasibility Study has
commenced and an infill drilling program is expected to be underway
shortly.'
Juan Carlos Alfaro
Mr. Alfaro is a senior executive with over 30 years of experience in
Chile's mining industry, with previous management responsibilities at
projects and operations owned by Barrick Gold, Kinross Gold, Placer
Dome and Exxon Minerals.
Most recently Mr. Alfaro was General Manager of the Cerro Casale Project
(Barrick/Kinross JV), one of the world's largest undeveloped
gold-copper projects in Region III, Chile. He had responsibility for
creating the in-country organization to operate and support the
development of the project, including staffing and permitting
strategy. Prior to that he was General Manager and President of the
Board of Directors of Compañía Minera Purén, a JV between Compañía
Minera Mantos de Oro and Codelco Chile, where he led the development of
the Purén gold and silver mining operation in Region III from the
beginning stages of exploration through to the construction, start up
and operation. He was also General Manager of Compañía Minera Mantos
de Oro (Placer/Kinross JV), the operator of the La Coipa Gold Mine in
Region III, which was recognized under Mr. Alfaro's leadership by both
the community and the JV partner for its commitment to the community
and sustainability. He has also consulted as Mining Project Director
for projects in Peru and Southern Chile with Metalica Consultores S.A.
Mr. Alfaro is a Civil Mining Engineer (Universidad de Chile), a graduate
of Queen's University Executive Development Program and holds a Diploma
in Finance from the Universidad Adolfo Ibañez in Chile.
Environmental Impact Study
Capstone has awarded the contract for preparation of the Santo Domingo
EIS to Knight Piésold, an international consulting company providing
engineering and environmental services for the mining, power, water,
transportation and construction sectors.
Knight Piésold will have responsibility throughout the environmental
permitting process, from the ongoing collection of all relevant
baseline information, the completion of the EIS document, its
presentation to authorities and process follow up, including community
consultation activities, until the Environmental Qualification
Resolution is obtained from the Chilean authorities. With more than
750 professionals worldwide, Knight Piésold is particularly known for
their environmental work that respects social, environmental and
economic responsibilities.
Santo Domingo Drilling Program
A geotechnical drilling program consisting of 15 holes, commenced at the
Santo Domingo site in mid-August 2011, to provide Feasibility Study
level geotechnical information for the final pit design and on site
installations. An infill drilling program, consisting of 60 holes, is
planned to start in September to upgrade the classification of the
first three years of the mine mineral reserves.
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 scale 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.
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Capstone Mining Corp.
Cindy Burnett, VP, Investor Relations
Telephone: 604-637-8157
Email: cburnett@capstonemining.com
Website: www.capstonemining.com