Capstone Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2011 Production Results
2011 Production of 78.3 million pounds of Copper in Concentrates
VANCOUVER, Jan. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Capstone Mining Corp. (TSX: CS) today announced its operating results
for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2011 for its two
operating mines, Cozamin and Minto. Combined production totalled 19.8
and 78.3 million pounds of copper in concentrates in the fourth quarter
and full year 2011, respectively, with additional by-products of lead,
zinc, silver and gold.
“Cozamin recorded another strong quarter, finishing the year with both
record quarterly and annual copper production,” said Darren Pylot,
President and CEO of Capstone. “At Minto, production for the fourth
quarter was below expectations, resulting in overall company production
of 78.3 million pounds of copper in concentrates, coming in just
slightly below our guidance of 80 million pounds for the year.”
2011 Production
_________________________________________________________________
| |Q1 2011|Q2 2011|Q3 2011|Q4 2011|Total 2011|
|______________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|__________|
|Copper in concentrates| | | | | |
|(millions of pounds) | | | | | |
|______________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|__________|
|- Cozamin | 8.6 | 10.4 | 10.3 | 11.9 | 41.2 |
|______________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|__________|
|- Minto | 8.1 | 10.8 | 10.3 | 7.9 | 37.1 |
|______________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|__________|
|Total | 16.7 | 21.2 | 20.6 | 19.8 | 78.3 |
|______________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|__________|
Operational Highlights for the three and twelve months ended December
31, 2011
The following is a summary of operational highlights for Capstone during
the three and twelve months, respectively, ended December 31, 2011:
-- Production of 19.8 and 78.3 million pounds of copper contained
in concentrates, respectively.
-- By-product production of 3.8 and 18.0 million pounds of zinc,
1.2 and 4.0 million pounds of lead and 473,337 and 1,762,465
ounces of silver in concentrates, respectively. Final gold
production is not available since assaying is conducted
off-site, but is estimated at 3,891 and 18,439 ounces for the
respective periods.
-- At Cozamin, fourth quarter copper production of 11.9 million
pounds was a new quarterly record with record average mill
throughput of 3,310 tonnes per day. Milled ore grade at
Cozamin for the quarter increased with full production attained
from the higher grade Avoca area.
-- At Minto, mill throughput continued strong with the continued
use of a contractor for the pre-crushing of the mill feed.
However, higher throughput was offset by continuing challenges
associated with processing of stockpiles of partially oxidized
ore from the Main Pit. Efforts are ongoing to develop an
effective ore blending and reagent scenario to more effectively
process these materials.
Q4 Operating Details
______________________________________________________________________
| | Cozamin | Minto | TOTAL |
|________________|_________________|_________________|_________________|
| | Q4 | Total | Q4 | Total | Q4 | Total |
| | 2011 | 2011 | 2011 | 2011 | 2011 | 2011 |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|Production(1) | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
|(contained in | | | | | | |
|concentrates) | | | | | | |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Copper (000s | 11,898| 41,212| 7,908| 37,124| 19,806| 78,337|
|pounds) | | | | | | |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Lead (000s | 1,228| 3,960| -| -| 1,228| 3,960|
|pounds) | | | | | | |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Zinc (000s | 3,818| 18,035| -| -| 3,818| 18,035|
|pounds) | | | | | | |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Silver |432,591|1,566,367| 40,748| 196,098|473,337|1,762,465|
|(ounces) | | | | | | |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Gold (ounces) | -| -| 3,891| 18,439| 3,891| 18,439|
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|Mine | | | | | | |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Tonnes of ore |307,163|1,110,104| 52,545| 728,253|359,708|1,838,357|
|mined | | | | | | |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|Mill | | | | | | |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Tonnes |304,556|1,097,759|336,949|1,258,308|641,505|2,356,067|
|processed | | | | | | |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Tonnes | 3,310| 3,008| 3,662| 3,447| -| -|
|processed per | | | | | | |
|day | | | | | | |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Copper grade | 1.90| 1.84| 1.28| 1.52| 1.57| 1.67|
|(%) | | | | | | |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Lead grade (%)| 0.29| 0.25| -| -| -| -|
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Zinc grade (%)| 0.86| 1.09| -| -| -| -|
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Silver grade | 59.5| 61.2| 4.8| 6.2| -| -|
|(g/t) | | | | | | |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Gold grade | -| -| 0.49| 0.60| -| -|
|(g/t) | | | | | | |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|Recoveries | | | | | | |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Copper (%) | 93.1| 92.8| 83.5| 87.9| 89.0| 90.2|
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Lead (%) | 63.9| 64.2| -| -| -| -|
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Zinc (%) | 66.1| 68.2| -| -| -| -|
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Silver (%) | 74.3| 72.5| 78.3| 78.6| -| -|
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Gold (%) | -| -| 73.2| 75.8| -| -|
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|Concentrates(1) | | | | | | |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Copper | 20,250| 70,650| 10,004| 46,215| 30,254| 116,865|
|concentrates | | | | | | |
|(dmt) | | | | | | |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Copper (%) | 26.7| 26.5| 35.8| 36.4| 29.7| 30.4|
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Silver (g/t) | 583| 602| 133| 132| 434| 416|
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Gold (g/t) | -| -| 10.5| 12.4| 10.5| 12.4|
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Lead | 845| 2,796| -| -| 845| 2,796|
|concentrates | | | | | | |
|(dmt) | | | | | | |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Lead (%) | 65.9| 64.2| -| -| 65.9| 64.2|
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Silver (g/t) | 1,955| 2,216| -| -| 1,955| 2,216|
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- | 3,578| 16,720| -| -| 3,578| 16,720|
|Zincconcentrates| | | | | | |
|(dmt) | | | | | | |
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
|- Zinc (%) | 48.4| 48.9| -| -| 48.4| 48.9|
|________________|_______|_________|_______|_________|_______|_________|
(1) Adjustments based on final settlements will be made in future
periods.
Q4 Financial Results Timing
Capstone will report 2011 full year financial results on Wednesday,
March 14, 2012 after market close, followed by a conference call for
investors and analysts on Thursday, March 15, 2012 at 11:30 am Eastern
time (8:30 am Pacific time).
Conference Call and Webcast Details
Date:
Time: Thursday, March 15, 2012
Dial in: 11:30 am Eastern Time (8:30 am Pacific Time)
Webcast: North America -- 1.888.231.8191, International -- 1.647.427.7450
http://www.newswire.ca/en/webcast/viewEvent.cgi?eventID=3809520
Replay: North America -- 1.855.859.2056, International -- 1.416.849.0833
Replay 42642132
Passcode:
The conference call replay will be available until March 29, 2012. A
transcript of the call will also be made available on Capstone’s
website (http://capstonemining.com/s/ConferenceCalls.asp) within approximately 24 hours of the call.
About Capstone Mining Corp.
Capstone Mining Corp. is a Canadian mining company with two producing
copper mines, the Cozamin copper-silver-zinc-lead mine located in
Zacatecas State, Mexico and the Minto copper-gold-silver mine in Yukon,
Canada. In addition, Capstone has two development projects, the large
scale 70% owned Santo Domingo copper-iron-gold project in Chile in
partnership with Korea Resources Corporation and the 100% owned Kutcho
copper-zinc-gold-silver project in British Columbia, as well as
exploration at properties in Chile, British Columbia and Australia.
Using its cash flow and strong balance sheet as a springboard, Capstone
aims to grow organically through continued mineral resource and reserve
expansions and through acquisitions in politically stable,
mining-friendly regions. 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”,
“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. 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; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or
financing or in the completion of development or construction
activities; 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
Unless otherwise indicated, Capstone has prepared the technical
information in this news release (“Technical Information”) based on
information contained in the technical reports, news releases and
MD&A’s (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.
The disclosure of the Technical Information contained in this news
release has been reviewed and approved by, John Sagman, P. Eng.,
Capstone’s Vice President, Technical Services a Qualified Person under
NI 43-101. In addition, Gregg Bush, Senior Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer for Capstone, reviewed all Technical Information in
this news release.
SOURCE Capstone Mining Corp.
