Capstone more than doubles Pinto Valley mine life

VANCOUVER – Six months after buying the Pinto Valley mine, Capstone Mining (TSX: CS) has shown that the copper-molybdenum-silver mine can operate for at least eight extra years and produce a billion more pounds of copper than previously projected.

Capstone bought Pinto Valley from BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) for US$650 million in October, adding to its roster an open pit mine 125 km east of Phoenix, Arizona, that has been operating intermittently since 1974. When the deal was done reserves at Pinto Valley were only enough to sustain five more years of mining.

But Capstone looked at the $194 million BHP had just poured into upgrading the mine and saw potential far beyond Pinto Valley's official books.

It looks as though the mid-tier producer was right …

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