VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (MARKETWIRE) -- 11/14/07 -- Capstone
Mining Corp. ("Capstone") (TSX: CS) announces its financial results
for the year and quarter ending August 31, 2007 including production
and sales for the Cozamin mine located in Zacatecas State, Mexico.
All dollar amounts are stated in U.S. dollars unless otherwise
indicated.
Overview and Highlights
For the year ended August 31, 2007, Capstone's earnings before future
income tax allowance were $25.2 million or $0.31 per share ($0.30 per
share diluted), and earnings after future income tax allowance were
$22.7 million or $0.28 per share ($0.27 per share diluted), compared
to a loss of $2.6 million or $0.04 loss per share ($0.04 loss per
share diluted) in fiscal 2006.
- For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, earnings before future
income tax allowance were $10.7 million or $0.13 per share. Earnings
after future income tax allowance were $8.2 million or $0.10 per
share.
- Revenue for fiscal 2007 was $55.3 million. The average realized
price for sales of copper, zinc, lead and silver in fiscal 2007 was
$3.20/lb, $1.60/lb, $0.96/lb and $10.76/oz respectively.
- At year end, Capstone had working capital of $52.9 million
including $36 million in cash and no bank debt, compared with working
capital of $20.6 million and a cash balance of $20.6 million in the
previous year.
- Copper cash costs for fiscal 2007 were $0.54/lb of copper (net of
by-product credits and including smelter, refining, transportation
and all site costs). Copper cash costs for Q4 were $0.63/lb.
- Total costs (the aggregate of cash costs, royalty, depletion and
amortization and accretion) for fiscal 2007 were $0.87/lb.
- During the year, Capstone issued 679,080 shares to Grupo Bacis to
complete its option to purchase the Cozamin Mine, giving Capstone a
100% ownership interest subject to a 3% Net Smelter Royalty paid to
Grupo Bacis.
- Capstone sold its silver during the year to Silverstone Resources
Corp. ("Silverstone"), whereby Capstone received $44 million ($20
million in cash and $24 million in Silverstone shares) plus the
lesser of $4.00 per ounce of silver and the prevailing market price
upon delivery in exchange for selling the next 10 years of silver
production from the Cozamin mine. Fair market value of the
Silverstone shares today is $57 million.
- Mineral reserves at year end for Cozamin were increased by 65% to
3.7 million tonnes, boosting recoverable copper from 93 million
pounds in 2006 to 173 million pounds in 2007. Recoverable zinc
increased from 24 million pounds to 48.5 million pounds, recoverable
lead increased from 1.6 million pounds to 2 million pounds and
recoverable silver increased from 4 million ounces to 7.3 million
ounces.
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Year ended Year ended
August 31, 2007 August 31, 2006
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Revenue $55.3M $Nil
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Copper $37.7M $Nil
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Zinc $8.0M $Nil
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Lead $2.7M $Nil
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Silver $6.9M $Nil
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Operating profit $28.0M $Nil
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Earnings (before tax) $25.2M ($2.6M)
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EPS - basic (before tax) $0.31 ($0.04)
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Earnings (after tax) $22.7M ($2.6M)
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EPS - basic $0.28 ($0.04)
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Cozamin Mine
Fiscal 2007 Production and Sales Highlights
- Capstone produced the following metals during the year.
- 13.9 million pounds of copper
- 6.8 million pounds of zinc
- 3 million pounds of lead
- 747,000 ounces of silver
- Concentrate sales for the year were dry metric tonnes ("DMT"), containing;
- 11.8 million pounds of copper
- 5 million pounds of zinc
- 2.8 million pounds of lead
- 641,000 ounces of silver
Concentrate inventory at August 31, 2007 was 8,150 DMT (containing 2.6 million pounds of copper, 2.0 million pounds of zinc and 0.4 million pounds of lead).
2007 Production Results and 2008 Forecast
The forecasted copper, zinc, lead and silver production for fiscal 2007 was estimated to be 13 - 14 million pounds of copper, 8 million pounds of zinc, 3.5 million pounds of lead and 700,000 ounces of silver.
The following table is a summary of the actual operating statistics for fiscal 2007 and forecast for 2008.
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Fiscal 2007 Fiscal 2008
(A) (F)
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Total tons mined 484,641 750,000
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Tons of ore milled 461,933 750,000
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Copper grade (%) 1.59 1.8
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Zinc grade (%) 1.47 1.3
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Silver grade (g/t) 71 69
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Lead grade (%) 0.6 0.5
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Copper recovery (%) 86 88
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Zinc recovery (%) 44.9 50
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Silver recovery (%) 73 74
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Lead recovery (%) 52.6 50
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Copper production (million DMT lbs) 13.9 26
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Zinc production (million DMT lbs) 6.8 11.3
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Silver production ('000 ounces) 747 1,100
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Lead production (million DMT lbs) 3.0 4.1
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Note: Silver reports to all concentrates.
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