VANCOUVER, July 12, 2012 /CNW/ – Capstone Mining Corp. (“Capstone”) (TSX: CS) today announced its operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012 for its two operating mines, Cozamin and Minto. Combined production totalled 21.9 and 40.5 million pounds of copper in concentrates in the second quarter and first six months, respectively, with additional by-products of lead, zinc, silver and gold.

“Overall we are very pleased with production in the second quarter,” said Darren Pylot, President and CEO of Capstone.  “Both mines broke new throughput records during the quarter, with Cozamin performing exceptionally well and above our expectations.  At Minto, we have completed the transition from our Main Pit to the Area 2 Pit, with operations fully ramped up and on track to meet guidance for the year.”

Operational highlights for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012

• Production of 21.9 and 40.5 million pounds of copper contained in concentrates, respectively.


• By-product production of 4.6 and 8.7 million pounds of zinc, 1.0 and 1.8 million pounds of lead and 482,001 and 912,533 ounces of silver in concentrates.  Final gold production is not available since assaying is conducted off-site, but is estimated at 3,214 and 5,302 ounces for the respective periods.


• At Cozamin, the second quarter was another strong one, with record ore mined for the quarter and record monthly mill throughput of 3,638 tonnes per day in June.  Recoveries continued at high levels; however the copper grade was down from the higher grades seen in the first quarter.


• At Minto, the transition from the Main Pit to the Area 2 Pit is complete with fresh ore from the Area 2 Pit feeding the mill for the latter part of the quarter.  The fresh ore is processing extremely well and Minto achieved record throughput for the quarter of 3,879 tonnes per day, with grades and recoveries coming up.  June’s production was just over 3,600 tonnes per day, with an average copper recovery of 92.9% on a head grade of 1.81% copper.

Outlook

Capstone’s 2012 guidance for 80 million pounds (± 5%) of copper in concentrates remains unchanged. With production at the six month mark of the year at 40.5 million pounds and operations at both mines running well we are on target to meet guidance for the year.

Q2 Financial Results Timing

Capstone will report 2012 second quarter financial results on Tuesday, August 14, 2012 after market close, followed by a conference call and webcast for investors and analysts on Wednesday, August 15, 2012 at 11:30 am Eastern time (8:30 am Pacific time).

Conference Call and Webcast Details

The conference call audio and transcript will be available on Capstone’s website within approximately 24 hours of the call http://capstonemining.com/s/Conference_Calls.asp.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This document may contain “forward-looking information” within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, “forward-looking statements”). These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this document and Capstone Mining Corp. (the “Company”) does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required under applicable securities legislation.

Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect Company management’s expectations or beliefs regarding future events and include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the estimation of mineral reserves and mineral resources, the realization of mineral reserve estimates, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures, success of mining operations, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, title disputes or claims and limitations on insurance coverage. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “outlook”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved” or the negative of these terms or comparable terminology. In this document certain forward-looking statements are identified by words including “scheduled”, “guidance”, “plan”, “planned”, “estimated”, “projections”, “projected” and “expected”. By their very nature forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, risks related to actual results of current exploration activities; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of mineral resources; possible variations in ore reserves, grade or recovery rates; accidents, dependence on key personnel, labour pool constraints, labour disputes; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities; and other risks of the mining industry as well as those factors detailed from time to time in the Company’s interim and annual financial statements and management’s discussion and analysis of those statements, all of which are filed and available for review on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements.

National Instrument 43-101 Compliance

Unless otherwise indicated, Capstone has prepared the technical information in this news release (“Technical Information”) based on information contained in the technical reports, news releases and MD&A’s (collectively the “Disclosure Documents”) available under Capstone Mining Corp.’s company profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Each Disclosure Document was prepared by or under the supervision of a qualified person (a “Qualified Person”) as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators (“NI 43-101”).  Readers are encouraged to review the full text of the Disclosure Documents which qualifies the Technical Information.  Readers are advised that mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.  The Disclosure Documents are each intended to be read as a whole, and sections should not be read or relied upon out of context.  The Technical Information is subject to the assumptions and qualifications contained in the Disclosure Documents.

The disclosure of the technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by John Sagman, P. Eng., Capstone’s Vice President, Technical Services a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. In addition, Gregg Bush, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Capstone reviewed all technical information in this news release.

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