VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Capstone Mining Corp. has entered into an agreement with BHP Copper Inc. to purchase its Pinto Valley copper mining operation and the associated San Manuel Arizona Railroad for $650 million. The Pinto Valley Mine is located in the Globe-Miami mining district in Ariz., about 50 miles east of Phoenix. It is projected to produce 130-150 million pounds of copper in concentrate annually.
“Pinto Valley represents a unique opportunity to acquire a mid-sized producing copper mine in a well-established and low-risk mining jurisdiction with a significant mineral resource,” Darren Pylot, president and CEO of Capstone, says. “This acquisition gives Capstone our third producing mine with a long mine life and is consistent with Capstone’s strategy of building an intermediate copper producer focused in the Americas.”
The San Manuel Arizona Railroad is a 30-mile short line that opened in 1955. It connects with the Copper Basin Railroad at Hayden, Ariz. In the 1990s, the railroad moved about 9,000 cars annually. It operated with a fleet of GP38-2s when it shut down in 2009.
