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Massive trucks like these are used at most of the copper mines in the Copper Corridor. Andrea Justice | Nugget
Pinal Nugget
Capstone Mining, which has acquired the Pinto Valley copper project from BHP Billiton last year, has announced it intends to raise $300 million in debt by offering senior notes with a maturity date in 2022. Capstone is planning to take advantage of the current cheap debt situation as it has also arranged a new $300 million credit facility valid for four years.
No details have been given yet on the $300 million note issue, the yield will very likely be lower than 4 percent which means that it’s a cheap way to diversify the company’s funding needs.
This cheap credit facility and the $300 million bond should allow Capstone to both reduce its interest expenses and increase its financial flexibility and fire power. At this point in time Capstone is on a takeover path again to secure ‘the next project’ for its pipeline as Pinto Valley’s ramp-up is going according to plan.
Owned by Capstone Mining Corp., the Pinto Valley Mine and associated San Manuel Arizona Railroad Company was acquired from BHP Billiton in October 2013.
The Pinto Valley Mine is located in the Globe-Miami mining district in Arizona, one of the oldest and largest copper districts in the Americas. BHP Billiton invested $194 million in 2012/2013 to upgrade and re-commision the operation, which was successfully restarted in December 2012. It is projected to produce approximately 130 million pounds of copper in concentrate and approximately 7 million pounds of copper cathode annually, along with by product molybdenum, for the first five years of production.
BHP Billiton restarted mining at Pinto Valley in early 2013 with five years in publicly reported reserves. In early 2014, Capstone announced the results of a Pre-Feasibility Study, extending the mine life by eight years to 2026. Capstone believes there is potential to extend the operational life beyond the PV2 reserve life in Mineral Resources not included in the PV2 mine plan can be successfully converted into Mineral Reserves. Capstone intends to commence engineering and economic studies to consider all remaining current Mineral Resources not included in the PV2 mine plan and their potential for development beyond 2026.
Andrea Justice started working for the Copper Area News in Feb. 2013. She is the primary reporter and photographer for Copper Futures, a special edition highlighting exceptional students and athletes from Globe, Miami, and San Carlos. Andrea works as a copy editor for several of the publications produced by Copper Area News. She is the former managing editor of the Arizona Silver Belt and San Carlos Apache Moccasin, and has over 10 years of experience working in a newsroom. She has received awards for photojournalism and design from the Arizona Newspaper Association. Andrea has strong ties to the Globe, Miami and San Carlos communities. She is a Globe High School and Eastern Arizona College graduate. She lives in Globe with her husband, Justin, and their three children, Brandon, Isiah, and Ryliegh.
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