Capstone Copper employee shot dead in Mexico

Capstone Copper Corp. [CS-TSX] has reported a security incident at its Cozamin mine in Zacatecas, Mexico. The company said an employee was shot and fatally wounded on the main access road between the city of Zacatecas and the mine.

Capstone said the mine site remains secure and operational. The company also said it is working with government authorities to ensure safe transportation to and from the mine site.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of our team members,’’ said Capstone CEO John MacKenzie. “Our foremost priority is the safety and security of our personnel, and we are committed to supporting the family of the deceased.’’

Capstone is a Canadian base metals mining company with a focus on copper.

By recently merging with Mantos Copper, a Chilean-focused company that was run by British investment firm Audley Capital Advisors and Orion Mine Finance, Capstone established itself as a premier copper producer with a diversified portfolio of high-quality, long life operating assets focused on the Americas with an extensive pipeline of near-term organic growth opportunities.

Following completion of the Mantos Copper transaction, Mantos’ largest shareholder, funds managed by Orion Resource Partners, became an approximately 32% shareholder of Capstone Copper.

Capstone’s portfolio featured a 2021 copper production base of 175,000 tonnes of copper from four mines and 4.9 million tonnes of copper reserves.

The portfolio includes the Pinto Valley copper mine in Arizona, and the Cozamin copper-silver mine in Zacatecas, Mexico. In addition, Capstone holds a 70% interest in Santo Domingo, a large scale, fully permitted, copper-iron-gold project in Region 111, Chile, in partnership with Korea Resources Corp.

Last year, the company closed a US$150 million streaming agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (WPM-TSX, WPM-NYSE) covering 50% of the silver production at Capstone’s Cozamin mine.

Capstone described the deal as transformational, giving it one of the lowest debt positions amongst base metal producers at a time when he is expecting significant copper production and cash flow growth.

In 2021, Capstone has said it expects to produce between 136 million and 150 million pounds of copper in the nine-month period ending on December 31, 2022, at a cash cost of between US$2.55 and US$2.70.

The company has been advancing two operational growth projects (at Cozamin and Pinto Valley) in a bid to sustain copper production at the 200 million pound-per year level starting this year.

On October 17, 2022, Capstone shares closed at $3.18, and currently trade in a 52-week range of $7.79 and $2.25.

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