Capstone Mining (CS: TSX) said Wednesday it produced 18.9 million pounds of copper concentrate in the fourth quarter as output from one of its mines fell behind.
The company’s Cozamin mine, located in Zacatecas State, Mexico, produced 8.2 million pounds of copper concentrate during the period. The company said the mine’s production over the past five weeks was 50% lower than planned because of disruptions caused by assessments and repairs.
Capstone cautioned that although production levels will continue to rise at the mine’s Avoca Zone, the zone will not return to planned production levels until late February due to development work that has yet to be completed.
The company’s other mine, the Minto mine in Yukon, Canada, produced 10.7 million pounds of copper concentrate for the fourth quarter.
Despite production problems in Mexico, Capstone re-iterated its 2011 production guidance of 80 to 85 million pounds of copper concentrates.
During the fourth quarter, the company also produced about 3.7 million pounds of zinc, 1.5 million pounds of lead, and 0.37 ounces of silver concentrates. Although the company has not yet released official gold production numbers, it estimated output of 2,234 ounces for the quarter.
Capstone said it will report its 2010 financial results on March 14. The company was up 0.7% on Wednesday morning to trade at $4.36 as of 10:00am EST.
