Capstone Copper Announces New Sustainable Development Strategy and GHG Emissions Reduction Targets
March 20, 2023
Capstone Copper Announces New Sustainable Development
Strategy and GHG Emissions Reduction Targets
Vancouver, British Columbia – Capstone Copper Corp. (“Capstone” or the “Company”) (TSX:CS) is
pleased to announce a new Sustainable Development Strategy (the “Strategy”) and the adoption of GHG
emissions reduction targets to support the Company’s commitment to responsible copper production. The
Strategy identifies five initial priorities with milestones, goals and targets for each. Click HERE to view a
presentation of our Sustainable Development Strategy.
The Sustainable Development Strategy reflects the Company’s core values and commitment to responsible
mining practices. A series of ongoing and future initiatives with specific goals, key performance indicators and
targets will focus on five initial priority areas.
Targets against the 2021 baseline are as follows:
Climate – Reduce GHG emissions from fuel and power by 30% by 2030. We operate in countries that are
signatories to the Paris Agreement and have committed to materially reduce national GHG emissions. We are
developing and execut ing decarbonization strategies through several i nitiatives including adding more
renewable power to our energy mix , studying independent renewable energy generation alternatives, and
displacing diesel consumption.
Water – Reduce freshwater consumption intensity by 2030. Freshwater is an increasingly scarce resource
essential to our operations and to so ciety and communities. We aim to reduce freshwater intensity and
increase low-quality, desalinated or recycled water as a proportion of total water consumed in our operations.
Tailings – Adopt the Global Industry Standard for Tailings Management (“GISTM”) by 2026 .
Responsible management of tailings is critical for minimizing negative environmental and social impacts. We
aim to achieve independent assurance of all our tailings storage facilities in conformance with GISTM.
Biodiversity – Establish a Biodiversity Standard and Assess All Sites by 2025 . Responsible mining
practices are critical for minimizing disruption to the land and ensuring the preservation of ecosystems. We
aim to assess all our sites against our framework for applying a mitigation hierarchy and prioritizing nature -
related risks and opportunities, and to complete site-specific reclamation, reforestation, and habitat restoration
projects.
Communities – Establish a Social Performance Standard and Assess All Sites by 2025. Fostering trust
and constructive working relationships with local communities, organizations and governments is important to
secure and maintain broad social acceptance. We are developing a Social Performance Standard to identify
and manage social risks an d impacts, stakeholder engagement, grievance management and community
investment, informed by the following best practices: International Finance Corporation PS1, ICMM guidance,
and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Targets for each priority are supported by robust reporting and evaluation processes under the direction of
senior leadership and the Board of Directors.
John MacKenzie, CEO of Capstone commented, “We are very proud to announce our new Sustainable
Development Strategy today. Responsible operating practices are a vital component of our commitment to the
environment, our employees, local communities and governments and must remain front of mind in everything
we do. By setting priorities, milestones and interim targets, we recognize our role as producers of copper in
the world’s efforts to address the causes of climate change. Our Board of Directors and management are
committed to achieving our Strategy and goals to contribute to a net zero future”.
NEWS RELEASE
TSX:CS ● capstonecopper.com
Wendy King, SVP ESG and General Counsel, commented, “This Sustainable Development Strategy and our
GHG reduction targets follow a detailed review of our operations to establish a 2021 baseline. We are aligned
with good international and industry standards while supporting the continued development of our assets.
Several of our polices, standards and operational initiatives are already contributing to these targets and we
look forward to providing regular updates as we progress.”
To find out more about Capstone’s Sustainable Development Strategy and initiatives, visit Responsibility -
Capstone Copper.
ABOUT CAPSTONE COPPER CORP.
Capstone Copper Corp. is an Americas -focused copper mining company headquartered in Vancouver,
Canada. We own and operate the Pinto Valley copper mine located in Arizona, USA, the Cozamin cop per-
silver mine located in Zacatecas, Mexico, the Mantos Blancos copper-silver mine located in the Antofagasta
region, Chile, and 70% of the Mantoverde copper-gold mine, located in the Atacama region, Chile. In addition,
we own the fully permitted Santo Domingo copper-gold project, located approximately 30 kilometres northeast
of Mantoverde in the Atacama region, Chile, as well as a portfolio of exploration properties in the Americas.
Capstone Copper’s strategy is to unlock transformational copper producti on growth while executing on cost
and operational improvements through innovation, optimization and safe and responsible production
throughout our portfolio of assets. We focus on profitability and disciplined capital allocation to surface
stakeholder valu e. We are committed to creating a positive impact in the lives of our people and local
communities, while delivering compelling returns to investors by sustainably producing copper to meet the
world’s growing needs.
Contact Information
Jerrold Annett, SVP, Strategy and Capital Markets
647-273-7351
Kettina Cordero, Director Investor Relations & Communications
604-262-9794
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Our Sustainable Development Strategy goals and strategies are based on a number of assumptions, including
regarding the biodiversity and climate-change consequences; availability and effectiveness of technologies needed
to achieve our sustainability goals and priorities; availability of land or other opportunities for conservation,
rehabilitation or capacity building on commercially reasonable terms and our ability to obtain any required external
approvals or consensus for such opportunities; the availability of clean energy sources and zero -emissions
alternatives for transportation on reasonable terms; our ability to successfully implement new technology; and the
performance of new technologies in accordance with our expectations.
This document may contain “forward-looking information” within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995 (collectively, “forward-looking statements”). These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this
document and the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking
statements, except as required under applicable securities legislation.
Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect our expectations or beliefs
regarding future events and the impacts of the ongoing and evolving COVID -19 pandemic and the evolving
geopolitical environment. Forward -looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to
the execution of our future growth projects, our financial liquidity and development of our projects, the estimation
of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, the success of the unde rground paste backfill and tailings filtration
projects at Cozamin, the timing and cost of the construction of the paste backfill and dry stack tailings plant at
Cozamin, the success and timing of the Mantos Blancos Concentrator Debottlenecking Project, th e timing and
cost of the Mantoverde Development Project, the timing and results of the PV4 study, timing and success of the
Jetti Technology, the successful execution of a port services agreement with Puerto Abierto S.A., the expected
reduction in capital requirements for the Santo Domingo project, the timing and success of the Cobalt Study for
Santo Domingo, the timing and results of the integrated plan for Mantoverde - Santo Domingo, the realization of
Mineral Reserve estimates, the timing and amount of e stimated future production, the costs of production and
capital expenditures and reclamation, the budgets for exploration at Cozamin, Santo Domingo, Pinto Valley,
Mantos Blancos, Mantoverde and other exploration projects, the timing and success of the Copp er Cities project,
the success of our mining operations, the continuing success of mineral exploration, the estimations for potential
quantities and grade of inferred resources and exploration targets, our ability to fund future exploration activities,
our ability to finance the Santo Domingo project and other current or future projects and expansions, environmental
risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses and title disputes, the success of the synergies and catalysts related to
the combined business follo wing the Company’s recent arrangement, and the anticipated future production, costs
of production, including the cost of sulphuric acid and oil and other fuel, capital expenditures and reclamation of
the Company's operations and development projects and th e risks included in our continuous disclosure filings on
SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The potential effects of the COVID -19 pandemic on our business and operations are
unknown at this time, including Capstone Copper’s ability to manage challenges and restricti ons arising from
COVID-19 in the communities in which Capstone Copper operates and our ability to continue to safely operate
and to safely return our business to normal operations. The impact of COVID-19 to Capstone Copper is dependent
on a number of facto rs outside of our control and knowledge, including the effectiveness of the measures taken
by public health and governmental authorities to combat the spread of the disease, global economic uncertainties
and outlook due to the disease, supply chain delays resulting in lack of availability of supplies, goods and
equipment, and evolving restrictions relating to mining activities and to travel in certain jurisdictions in which we
operate.
In certain cases, forward -looking statements can be id entified by the use of words such as “anticipates”,
“approximately”, “believes”, “budget”, “estimates”, “expects”, “forecasts”, “guidance”, intends”, “plans”, “scheduled”,
“target”, or variations of such words and phrases, or statements that certain actions, events or results “be achieved”,
“could”, “may”, “might”, “occur”, “should”, “will be taken” or “would” or the negative of these terms or comparable
terminology. In this document certain forward -looking statements are identified by words including “anti cipated”,
“expected”, “guidance” and “plan”. The forward-looking statements in this document are necessarily based on a
number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company as at the date of such
statements, are inherently subject to the business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies.
The Company has based these forward -looking statements on the Company’s current expectations and
projections about future events. By their very nature, forward -looking statements involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be
materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the for ward-
looking statements. Such factors include, amongst others, risks related to inherent hazards associated with mining
operations and closure of mining projects, future prices of copper and other metals, compliance with financial
covenants, surety bonding, our ability to raise capital, Capstone Copper’s ability to acquire properties for growth,
counterparty risks associated with sales of our metals, use of financial derivative instruments and associated
counterparty risks, foreign currency exchange rate fl uctuations, market access restrictions or tariffs, changes in
general economic conditions, availability and quality of water, accuracy of Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve
estimates, operating in foreign jurisdictions with risk of changes to governmenta l regulation, compliance with
governmental regulations, compliance with environmental laws and regulations, reliance on approvals, licences and
permits from governmental authorities and potential legal challenges to permit applications, contractual risks
including but not limited to, our ability to meet the completion test requirements under the Cozamin Silver Stream
Agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. ("Wheaton"), our ability to meet certain closing conditions under
the Santo Domingo Gold Stream A greement with Wheaton, acting as Indemnitor for Minto Metals Corp.’s surety
bond obligations post divestiture, impact of climate change and changes to climatic conditions at our operations
and projects, changes in regulatory requirements and policy related to climate change and greenhouse gas ("GHG")
emissions, land reclamation and mine closure obligations, aboriginal title claims and rights to consultation and
accommodation, risks relating to widespread epidemics or pandemic outbreak including the COVID -19 pandemic;
the impact of COVID-19 on our workforce, risks related to construction activities at our operations and development
projects, suppliers and other essential resources and what effect those impacts, if they occur, would have on our
business, including our ability to access goods and supplies, the ability to transport our products and impacts on
employee productivity, the risks in connection with the operations, cash flow and results of Capstone Copper relating
to the unknown duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, impacts of geopolitical events and the effects of
global supply chain disruptions, uncertainties and risks related to the potential development of the Santo Domingo
project, risks related to the Mantos Blancos Concentrator Debottlene cking Project and the Mantoverde
Development Project, increased operating and capital costs, increased cost of reclamation, challenges to title to
our mineral properties, increased taxes in jurisdictions the Company operates or is subject to tax, changes i n tax
regimes we are subject to and any changes in law or interpretation of law may be difficult to react to in an efficient
manner, maintaining ongoing social licence to operate, seismicity and its effects on our operations and communities
in which we ope rate, dependence on key management personnel, potential conflicts of interest involving our
directors and officers, corruption and bribery, limitations inherent in our insurance coverage, labour relations,
increasing input costs such as those related to sulphuric acid, electricity, fuel and supplies, increasing inflation rates,
competition in the mining industry including but not limited to competition for skilled labour, risks associated with
joint venture partners and non-controlling shareholders or assoc iates, our ability to integrate new acquisitions and
new technology into our operations, cybersecurity threats, legal proceedings, the volatility of the price of the
Common Shares, the uncertainty of maintaining a liquid trading market for the Common Share s, risks related to
dilution to existing shareholders if stock options or other convertible securities are exercised, the history of Capstone
Copper with respect to not paying dividends and anticipation of not paying dividends in the foreseeable future and
sales of Common Shares by existing shareholders can reduce trading prices, and other risks of the mining industry
as well as those factors detailed from time to time in the Company’s interim and annual financial statements and
MD&A of those statements, al l of which are filed and available for review under the Company’s profile on SEDAR
at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause our actual
results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those described in our forward -looking statements,
there may be other factors that cause our results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated
or intended. There can be no assurance that our forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as our actual
results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly,
readers should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements.