Project Summary Overview Pre-Feasibility Exploration Programs History Geology Maps Photo Gallery Technical Reports

HISTORY

The Minto project has a history of exploration and development dating back to the early 1970's. In the mid-1990's, a feasibility study was completed by prior owners, permits obtained and construction of an open pit mine commenced. During that period, the mill foundations were poured, the ball and SAG mills were purchased and moved to site, a permanent camp constructed and the site connected to a permitted Yukon River crossing via a 29km production standard access road. Construction was suspended in 1997 after expenditures of approximately $10 million due to depressed copper prices.

Capstone's predecessor, Sherwood Copper, acquired the Minto Project in June 2005 and, in just two years from acquisition, re-drilled the deposit to modern reserve standards, completed a bankable feasibility study, arranged project financing, and built a $100 million open pit copper-gold mine. Commercial production commenced on October 1, 2007. The mill was expanded from its initial design throughput of 1,563 tonnes per day ("tpd") to 2,400 tpd, which throughput was achieved in March 2008. The mill throughput was again increased to a design level of 3,200 tpd during the latter part of 2008, and achieved the expanded design throughput in March of 2009.

To view Stephen Quin's, Capstone's President and COO, official mine opening speech which outlines the history of the Minto project from its discovery in 1970 to the commencement of commercial production in October 2007, please click here.

2010

February -- Capstone commences 2010 exploration program at Minto copper-gold mine
March -- Capstone reports first high grade copper-gold results from 2010 drilling at Minto and reports 2009 year-end reserve & resource estimates for Minto Mine
April -- Capstone reports additional high grade copper-gold results from Area 2 and Minto East areas
July -- Capstone announces a new high grade copper-gold discovery "Wildfire"
August -- 44% increase in copper contained in undeveloped M&I mineral resources at Minto

2009

December -- Phase IV PFS published, extending mine life and increasing mineral reserves.
November -- Capstone reports discovery of high grade, deeper Minto East mineralization.
June -- Capstone announces 32% expansion in contained copper in updated mineral resource estimates including net adjustments for mining to the end of 2008.
March -- Minto mill reaches Phase III design throughput of 3,200 tpd.
March -- Recognition that the Area 2 and Area 118 deposit are parts of one dismembered larger deposit; combined mineral resource increases.
February -- Very high grade Minto North copper-gold deposit discovered on 1st hole of 2009 exploration program.

2008

June -- Capstone announces contained copper in mineral resources increased by 50% and precious metals by approximately 40% as a result of drilling in 2007
May -- Capstone announces discovery of new areas of copper-gold mineralization in west Minto valley
April -- Capstone commences 20,000m drill program at Minto
March -- Capstone completes commissioning the Phase 2 mill expansion increasing mill throughput from 1,563 tonnes per day to 2,400 tonnes per day
March -- Capstone signs a Memorandum of Understanding with Firestone Ventures Inc. outlining the terms of a Regional Exploration Alliance which would provide Capstone with additional exploration upside in Yukon
February -- Capstone announces final drill results from the four new discoveries of high grade copper-gold mineralization made during the 2007 exploration program

2007

December -- Results of Area 2 Pre-feasibility Study announced, increasing reserves and laying out a path for significantly increased copper production (commencing immediately) and enhanced project economics
December -- Capstone reports that construction of the Carmacks to Stewart transmission line has commenced, which will connect the Minto Mine to lower cost grid power
December -- Phase 2 mill expansion to 2,400 tonnes per day completed ahead of schedule
October -- Commercial production declared at the Minto Mine
October - First copper-gold concentrates shipped from the Port of Skagway bound for smelters in Asia
October -- Capstone completes 102 hole 23,618m exploration program
August -- Capstone conducts IP survey over core of Minto property, outlining several prospective targets
July -- First copper-gold concentrates shipped to Port of Skagway
May -- Capstone produces first copper-gold concentrates at Minto Mine
May -- Mill commissioning commences
May -- Yukon Utilities Board approves revised power purchase agreement
May -- Capstone discovers high grade copper-gold mineralization in Minto 'Gap' Target
May -- Capstone commences Phase 2 mill construction from 1,563 mtpd to 2,400 mtpd
April -- Capstone expands scope of Pre-feasibility Study to incorporate several project optimizations and to evaluate the potential for further production expansions
February -- Capstone announces Area 2 adds 60% to existing resource base
January -- Capstone signs agreement with AIDEA to develop and utilize the port of Skagway for the export of Capstone's copper-gold concentrates

2006

December - Capstone completes geophysical survey which defines multiple exploration targets
November - Capstone commences pre-feasibility study on Area 2 discovery
October - Capstone completed a total of 24,252 metres (79,567 feet) of NQ diamond drilling in a two-phase program, confirming and upgrading resources in the main Minto deposit
October - Capstone receives C$65m project loan facility from Macquarie Bank, completes forward sales equaling 65% of first four years production, and enters into concentrate off-take agreement with very favorable TC/RC terms
August - Capstone completes feasibility study which demonstrate robust project economics
June - begins development of Minto Project with mobilization of mining equipment to site
March - Capstone signs a letter of intent with Yukon Energy Corporation for the provision of grid power to the proposed mine at Capstone's 100% owned high-grade Minto copper-gold deposit
February - Capstone selects JDS Energy & Mining to be the engineering, procurement and construction management contractor and Clark Builders to be the general contractor for project development

2005

December - Capstone hires experienced General Manager to oversee completion of its feasibility study, construction and the operations of the Minto project
December - Capstone retained Macquarie Bank Ltd. as exclusive arranger of the for the debt component of funding the Minto project
October - Approximately 6,772m of drilling in 57 drill holes including:
- 20 confirmation diamond drill holes within the resource limits;
- 16 step-out diamond drill holes beyond prior resource limits (to the south and west);
- A number of reverse circulation and geotechnical holes to test the proposed waste dump, tailings disposal area, and to assist in pit optimization work
- The 2005 drill program confirmed the existing resource, expanded the high grade Minto copper-gold deposit beyond the limits of prior drilling, upgraded inferred resources within the prior pit limits, and provided strong evidence for significantly higher than estimated gold grades from previous drilling
September - Capstone receives a ten-year extension of the Type A Water Licence (to June 30, 2016) which allows Capstone to construct and operate a mine at Minto
September - Capstone Mining Corp. changes name to CapstoneCapstone Mining Corp.
August - Capstone commences 10,000m drill program at Minto
August - Capstone increases ownership to 100% of Minto Explorations, gaining complete control of the Minto Project
June - Capstone acquires over 94.5% of the shares of Minto Explorations
May - Capstone locks up an additional 7% of Minto Explorations shares
April - Capstone mails offer to shareholders of Minto Explorations
March - Capstone announces agreement with Minto Explorations, Asarco and Falconbridge whereby Capstone will acquire Minto Explorations and all other interests in the Minto property.

2004

Minto Explorations announces that it is for sale

2002

a limited amount of the old Asarco core that could be recovered was re-sampled
all the drill and geophysical data compiled in a data base to aid further exploration
three Landsat anomalies examined and prospected
road maintenance scheduled to keep permits active

2001

additional maintenance of camp facilities
five confirmation diamond drill holes (552m) in the centre of the deposit
regional airborne magnetic and radiometric surveys carried out by the Yukon government

2000

minor maintenance of on-site facilities
Minto project was put on care and maintenance owing to low metal prices after approximately $10 million was spent on project infrastructure

1999

production license received
five diamond drill holes (957m) for engineering purposes

1998

mill concrete foundations poured with cement trucks form Whitehorse barged across the Yukon River
Type A water license granted by Yukon government
concentrator design completed
access road completed, camp constructed and the location of the proposed tailings dam was grouted
phase 1 open pit mining plan completed

1997

a further 12.8km of road construction to complete the new access road
site for camp excavated
72m water well for domestic water supply
mill site excavated and 2 used grinding mills moved onto site using an ice bridge over the Yukon River
co-operation agreement signed with Selkirk First Nation

1996

16km access road constructed including a barge landing site on the west side of the Yukon River and a bridge over Big Creek
4 diamond drill holes (545m)

1995

6 diamond drill holes (572m) on magnetic anomalies and 1 condemnation diamond drill hole north of the proposed mill site
feasibility study completed, reserves are 8,818,000T of 1.73% Cu, 0.014 oz/t Au and 0.22 oz/t Ag at 0.5% Cu cut-off grade (not to 43-101 standards)
recoveries are 95% for Cu and 85% for Au and Ag
mine life was projected to be 12 years at production rate of 477,000 tonnes per year

1994

19 diamond drill holes (2,185m)
feasibility study began with engineering and geo-technical studies

1993

Minto Explorations Ltd. was formed which consolidated the interests of Asarco, Teck Corp. and Falconbridge into one publicly traded junior mining company
Minto Explorations carried out an airborne geophysical survey and drilled 8 diamond drill holes (960m)

1989

84 percussion drill holes (4,897m) on the DEF claims

1984

5 percussion drill holes (518m) on the DEF claims
Silver Standard transfers its interest in the Minto project to Teck Corp.

1975-1976

joint feasibility studies completed

1974

winter road built from Yukon Crossing and 58 diamond drill holes (11,228m) on the Minto claims
additional geophysics, rock mechanics, feasibility studies and 52 diamond drill holes (8,238m) on the DEF claims

1973

62 diamond drill holes (7,887m) on the Minto claims which have split ownership
United Keno Explorations (a joint venture among United Keno Hill, Falconbridge Nickel, and Canadian Superior Explorations) successfully drill into the northern portion of the Minto deposit
A joint venture between Silver Standard and Asarco successfully drills into the southern portion of the Minto deposit
bulldozer trenching, EM and magnetic geophysical surveys and 41 diamond drill holes (7,753m) on the DEF claims
main mineralized body discovered in June

1972

mapping, airstrip construction and bulldozer trenching, 12 diamond drill holes (1,871m) on 4 zones on the Minto claims
grid soil sampling and bulldozer trenching on the DEF claims

1971

follow-up of stream sediment anomalies and staking of the Minto claims in July
staking of the Minto claims by two independent groups: United Keno Explorations (a joint venture among United Keno Hill, Falconbridge Nickel, and Canadian Superior Explorations), and a joint venture between Silver Standard Mines and Asarco
soil sampling, IP geophysical surveys and manual excavated prospect pits on the Minto claims
7 diamond drill holes (1,158m)
IP and VLF-EM geophysical surveys, soil sampling and mapping on the DEF claims

1970

regional stream sediment geochemical survey by the Dawson Syndicate, a joint venture between Silver Standard Mines Ltd. and Asarco Inc.

Table 2: Historical Tonnage & Grade Estimates of the Minto Deposit

Year	Source	Tons	Cu %	Au oz/t	Ag oz/t	Comments
1975	R.J. Prevedi ASARCO	8,441,941	1.74	-	-	Cutoff grade 0.6% Cu
1976	R.T.Heard UKHM	8,219,370	2.04	-	-	-
1976	L.A. Wigglesworth Falconbridge	8,210,219	2.03	-	-	-
1976	R.J. Prevedi ASARCO	7,220,900	1.86	-	-
1980	D.M. Fletcher ASARCO	2,968,600	3.24	0.027	0.411	Cut-off grade 2.0% Cu
1989	J.Proc & H.L.Kingman Minto Explorations	6,368,000	2.11	0.016	0.33	Open Pit and Underground recovery at 75% and 5% dilution Cut-off grade 0.8% Cu
1990	SRK/Falconbridge	7,592,318	1.88	0.016	-	Cut-off grade 0.0%? Cu Includes Lower Zone
1992	J.Proc & H.L.Kingman Minto Explorations	6,071,000	2.21	0.018	0.28	Open Pit and Underground UG = 1,600,000 ton @ 3.73% Cu, 0.038 oz/t Au o.49 oz/t Ag
1995	Montgomery Consultants Minto Explorations	9,700,000	1.73	0.014	0.22	Cut-off grade 0.5% Cu
2005	Giroux Consulting Sherwood Mining Corp.	9,190,000 Measured & Indicated	1.83	0.016	0.232	Cut-off grade 0.5% Cu
2005	Giroux Consulting Sherwood Mining Corp.	770,000 Inferred	1.41	0.013	0.175	Cut-off grade 0.5% Cu

All the resource estimates discussed in the History section of this site prior to 2005 do not follow the required disclosure for reserves and resources as outlined in National Instrument 43-101 as they were prepared prior to the inception NI 43-101. The historic resource figures generated have not been redefined to conform to the CIM approved standards as required in NI 43-101. The resource estimates have been obtained by sources believed reliable and are relevant but cannot be verified. No effort has been made to refute or confirm these estimates and they can only be described as historical estimates.