Capstone Copper's Mantoverde operates at half-capacity

Executive Summary

• Capstone Copper reports a motor failure in both ball‑mill drives at the Mantoverde mine, reducing production to roughly half capacity.
• Repairs are expected to take about four weeks; the company estimates a loss of 3,000–4,000 tonnes of copper concentrate during this period.
• Mitigation plans include rescheduling planned plant maintenance and operating the circuit in bypass mode, which has been used previously.

Key Details

• Failure timeline: First ball‑mill drive motor failed on Aug 24; second drive motor failed on Aug 30.
• Repair estimate: Approximately four weeks to replace/repair the damaged motors.
• Production impact: Expected reduction of 3,000–4,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate over the repair period.
• Operating mode: Mantoverde will run at ~50 % capacity by bypassing the ball mill; this configuration is pre‑approved and has been executed before.
• Mitigation actions:
• Replacement of the first failed motor with a spare part.
• Evaluation of rescheduling September plant maintenance to align with downtime.
• Ongoing root‑cause investigation and development of a replacement strategy for the second motor.
• Future updates: Capstone will provide additional information as the situation evolves.

Notable Quotes

(No direct quotes were provided in the release.)