Business
Capstone Mining Completes Acquisition of Pinto Valley Mining Operations
VANCOUVER , Oct. 11, 2013 /CNW/ - Capstone Mining Corp. ("Capstone") (TSX: CS) has complet...
About this update from Capstone Copper Corp.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\nVANCOUVER, Oct. 11, 2013 /CNW/ - Capstone Mining Corp. (\"Capstone\")\n (TSX: CS) has completed the previously announced acquisition of the\n Pinto Valley copper mine and the associated San Manuel Arizona Railroad\n Company from BHP Copper Inc., a subsidiary of BHP Billiton Ltd. (\"BHP\n Billiton\").\n\n\n\"The closing of the Pinto Valley acquisition advances us as one of the\n leading intermediate copper producers, with a focus in the Americas,\"\n said Darren Pylot, President and CEO of Capstone. \"Following the\n closing of the transaction, we have retained considerable financial\n flexibility with a very conservative capital structure.\"\n\n\nThe purchase price of US$650 million was funded from cash and Capstone's\n credit facilities.\n\n\nOperations\n\n\nThe restart of the Pinto Valley Mine, which commenced in December 2012,\n is continuing with a targeted run-rate of 50,800 tonnes per day by the\n end of 2013 with annualized production of 130 million to 150 million\n pounds of copper per year.\n\n\nCapstone will commence reporting full operating and production\n information for Pinto Valley with its fourth quarter report.\n\n\nAn experienced workforce remains in place, with 98% of Pinto Valley's\n 650 employees accepting Capstone's offer of employment, including all\n key positions. Steve Winkelmann, formerly Capstone's VP of North\n American Operations, has been appointed Pinto Valley's Mine General\n Manager and has been on site shadowing his BHP Billiton counterpart\n since early September. Steve has 40 years of mining experience\n including large mining operations, primarily in the US and most\n recently in Arizona.\n\n\nNext Steps\n\n\nThe Capstone Pinto Valley team will initially focus on continuing to\n ramp up production levels and the integration of the operations to\n achieve our targets. At the same time leadership will identify\n opportunities for cost reduction, reliability enhancement and\n throughput maximization.\n\n\nCapstone believes that considerable potential exists to upgrade the\n existing 968 million tonnes of Measured and Indicated (\"M&I\") Mineral\n Resources (grading 0.35% copper at a 0.25% cut-off grade) into\n reserves, potentially extending the operation beyond the current\n reserve life as reported by BHP Billiton. A Preliminary Feasibility\n Study (\"PFS\") is underway that will ta...