Jul 10 2015
Capstone Mining Corp. ("Capstone") today announced that it has received approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA") for its 70%-owned Santo Domingo project located in Region III, Chile. The approved project includes the mine, related infrastructure, copper and iron processing facilities, the development of a greenfield port and iron concentrate and seawater supply pipelines, as outlined in the July 2014 Feasibility Study.
"We are very pleased to have received the Santo Domingo project EIA and the support shown for the project by the local community," said Darren Pylot, Capstone President and CEO. "We are following a disciplined stage-gate approach and are moving the project forward in a phased manner, focusing on the copper portion of the project first, with the option to add iron facilities should the outlook for that market improve."
An internal analysis on a phased approach, which considers initial production of copper at a reduced throughput rate of 30,000 to 35,000 tonnes per day, has been completed and will be advanced to a Feasibility Study to determine the economic returns for this option. A revised budget is in the process of being developed, but is expected to be at or below Capstone's initial 2015 guidance. The revised budget will be disclosed once it has been finalized. Both KORES and POSCO E&C are supportive of this phased approach and budget.
The decisions related to the Santo Domingo project continue to be targeted at maximizing the value of the project while ensuring financial flexibility for continued growth and security for the Company's existing operations. The decision on how and when to proceed with the project will reflect, among other factors, general and project specific market conditions, the financing capacity of Capstone and the project, project economics as well as alternative investment opportunities available to the Company.
Conference Call and Webcast
Capstone will host a conference call and webcast for investors and analysts on Wednesday, July 8, 2015 at 11:30 am Eastern Time (8:30 am Pacific Time). Details as follows:
Date: Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Time: 11:30 am Eastern Time (8:30 am Pacific Time)
Dial in: North America: 1-888-390-0546 FREE, International: +416-764-8688
Webcast: http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=1022144&s=1&k=48338D17C1BBDF1BBCE6D058FDB882E0
Replay: North America: 1-888-390-0541 FREE, International: +416-764-8677
Replay Passcode: 911397#
The conference call replay will be available until Wednesday, July 22, 2015. The conference call audio and transcript will be available on Capstone's website within approximately 24 hours of the call, to access http://capstonemining.com/investors/events-and-presentations/default.aspx
Source: http://capstonemining.com/