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Capstone Mining Presents a Robust Cobalt Production Option to the Santo Domingo 2019 Technical Report With a 2020 Preliminary Economic Assessment
VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Capstone Mining Corp. ("Capstone" or the “Company”) (TSX:CS) releases positive updates on its Santo Domingo copper
About this update from Capstone Copper Corp.
[{"type":"text","content":"VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Capstone Mining Corp. (\"Capstone\" or the “Company”) (TSX:CS) releases positive updates on its Santo Domingo copper-iron-gold project (\"Santo Domingo\" or the \"Project\") in Region III, Chile. Updates to the Feasibility Study-level Technical Report, published on January 3, 20191 (“2019 Technical Report” or “Base Case”) includes a higher level of CAPEX/OPEX certainty, additional key permits and the development in Section 24 of a Preliminary Economic Assessment with respect to cobalt production (“2020 PEA Opportunity”). The 2020 PEA Opportunity contains pricing updates to the economic model for the Base Case and a potential investment decision for producing battery-grade cobalt sulfate. Santo Domingo is owned 70% by Capstone and 30% by Korea Resources Corporation (\"KORES\"). “The 2020 PEA Opportunity for cobalt adds significantly to the already robust copper-iron-gold Base Case. We are very excited as it aligns perfectly with our vision for growth in assets that can deliver strong cash flows in all price environments,” said Darren Pylot, President and CEO of Capstone. Opportunity to Build a Low Cost, Vertically Integrated Cobalt Business in Chile 2020 PEA Opportunity outlines potential for a copper-iron-gold mine with battery-grade cobalt sulfate production, resulting in a net present value at an 8% discount rate (“NPV8%“) of $1.66 billion after tax. Base Case copper-iron-gold project has a NPV8% of $1.03 billion. Incremental construction costs for a cobalt refining complex of $0.67 billion, for a combined $2.18 billion, timed to begin two years after construction begins for the copper-iron-gold plant. Production of an average of 10.4 million pounds of cobalt per annum in the form of 22,600 tonnes per annum (“tpa”) battery-grade cobalt sulfate, at incremental operating costs of $3.70 per pound of cobalt production costs and incremental C1 cash costs2 of -$4.11 per pound of cobalt production (including by-product sulfuric acid produced in the cobalt operation). Mr. Pylot added, “If Santo Domingo was in operation today, refined production of 4,700 tonnes of cobalt per year would make Capstone the fourth largest battery-grade cobalt producer outside of China, and the largest in the Americas. It would also be one of the lowest cost producers in the World. It is exciting to think about ...