Capstone, Mantos complete merger to create new copper player in the Americas

Capstone Mining and Mantos Copper have completed their merger to create a mining producer with operations in Chile, Mexico and the US, the renamed Capstone Copper said in a statement March 23.

"This company has the makings of becoming a Canadian-based copper champion driven by our long-life assets, our experienced management team, and our strong balance sheet," said the new company's CEO John MacKenzie.

Assets include the Mantos Blanco and Mantoverde copper mines in Chile, the Pinto Valley copper mine in Arizona and the Cozamin copper-silver mine in Mexico. It also owns the Santo Domingo copper-gold project in northern Chile, 30 kilometers from Mantoverde.

According to a presentation on the company's website, the four mines produced a total of 176,000 mt of copper in 2021 while the Santo Domingo mine could produce 118,000 mt/year copper during its first five years of operations, as well as gold, iron ore and cobalt.

"I am incredibly excited by the opportunity to lead Capstone Copper and help deliver on a truly transformational growth story," MacKenzie added.

The company has listed under the CS ticker previously used by Capstone Mining.

Under the deal, former shareholders of Capstone Mining own 60.2% of the new company while the rest will be held by the owners of Mantos Copper.