VANCOUVER, Dec. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Capstone Mining Corp. ("Capstone") (TSX: CS) today announced production for the Pinto Valley Mine since it assumed ownership on October 11, 2013 from BHP Copper Inc., a subsidiary of BHP Billiton Ltd.
"The ramp up at Pinto Valley is progressing well," said Darren Pylot, Capstone President and CEO. "We have been very pleased since taking over the operation on October 11. Reliability and availability are continuing to improve, giving us every confidence that we will achieve steady-state throughput, grade and recoveries by year-end 2013."
"Our focus in the fourth quarter continues to be on achieving steady-state operations and identifying opportunities for cost reductions," continued Mr. Pylot.
Capstone guided Pinto Valley projected production of 22 to 27 million pounds of contained copper for Capstone's 82 days of ownership in the fourth quarter of 2014. With the ramp up proceeding well, fourth quarter production is expected to be at, or above, the top end of fourth quarter guidance. A full report of fourth quarter production and 2014 production guidance will be provided following year-end.
About Capstone Mining Corp.
Capstone Mining Corp. is a Canadian base metals mining company, committed to the responsible development of our assets and the environments in which we operate. We are focused on copper, with three producing mines; the Pinto Valley copper-molybdenum mine located in Arizona, US, the Cozamin copper-silver-zinc-lead mine 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 Region III, Chile, in partnership with Korea Resources Corporation, and the 100% owned Kutcho copper-zinc-gold-silver project in British Columbia, Canada, as well as exploration properties in Canada, Chile and Mexico. 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).
SOURCE Capstone Mining Corp.
