Capstone Copper Corp. press release

Capstone Copper Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results

2026-10-29

TSX - Toronto Stock Exchange · Copper · Iron · Gold · Cobalt · Molybdenum · Silver · Zinc · Lead · Canada · Corporate Finance

Record adjusted EBITDA 1 of $358 million Revenue up 19% year-over-year Successful Mantoverde Optimized Project tie-in

Capstone Copper Corp. (“Capstone” or the “Company”) (TSX: CS) (ASX: CSC) today reported financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2026 (“Q3 2026”). Link H ERE for Capstone’s Q3 2026 webcast presentation. Unless otherwise stated, results are presented in United States dollars on a 100% basis.

Cashel Meagher, President and CEO of Capstone, commented: "The third quarter was a period of significant progress for Capstone. We completed the sulphide concentrator tie-in for our Mantoverde Optimized Project, entered into a definitive agreement to divest Cozamin, which will optimize our portfolio and further strengthen our balance sheet, and continued to consolidate the world-class Mantoverde-Santo Domingo district with the acquisition of San Pietro.

"We delivered a solid quarter of financial performance supported by robust copper prices, with 45,218 tonnes of copper production and record adjusted EBITDA 1 for the eighth straight quarter.

"Year-to-date, we have generated approximately $279 million in free cash flow from operations 1 , which has contributed to a reduction in our net debt leverage. With a streamlined portfolio, strengthened balance sheet and peer-leading organic growth pipeline, Capstone is well positioned to deliver transformational copper growth and lasting value for our shareholders."

Q3 2026 OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Consolidated total contained copper production for Q3 2026 was 45,218 tonnes at C1 cash costs 1 of $2.95/lb. Total Q3 2026 copper sold of 45,409 payable tonnes was approximately 1,600 tonnes above payable production largely driven by timing of sales at Mantoverde. Revenue of $712.0 million for Q3 2026 with a realized copper price of $6.61/lb, compared with revenue of $598.4 million and a realized copper price of $4.49/lb for Q3 2025. Record adjusted EBITDA 1 of $358.3 million for Q3 2026, compared to $249.2 million for Q3 2025 , driven by increased earnings from mining operations, which benefited from higher realized copper, gold and silver prices. This marks the eighth straight quarter of record adjusted EBITDA 1 . Net income attributable to shareholders of $98.5 million, or $0.13 per share for Q3 2026, compared to net income attributable to shareholders of $248.1 million, or $0.32 per share for Q3 2025, with the comparative period benefiting from a non-cash impairment reversal of $209.5 million related to the Santo Domingo Project. Adjusted net income attributable to shareholders 1 of $93.8 million, or $0.12 per share for Q3 2026, after adjusting for the impact of non-recurring items during the quarter. This compares to adjusted net income attributable to shareholders 1 of $49.4 million or $0.06 per share for Q3 2025, reflecting the stronger earnings from mining operations. Operating cash flow before changes in working capital of $329.1 million in Q3 2026 compared to $231.2 million in Q3 2025. Free cash flow from operations 1 of $63.7 million in Q3 2026 compared to $23.2 million in Q3 2025, reflecting an improvement in sustaining cash operating margins. Net debt 1 decreased to $564.0 million as at September 30, 2026, from $780.1 million as at December 31, 2025, as a result of strong operating cash flow driven by higher realized commodity prices. Total available liquidity 1 of $1,089.4 million as at September 30, 2026, composed of $263.4 million of cash and cash equivalents, and $826.0 million of undrawn amounts on the $1 billion corporate revolving credit facility ("RCF"). The Company notes that 2026 consolidated copper production is expected to finish at the low end of the guidance range of 200,000 to 230,000 tonnes of copper , while consolidated C1 cash costs 1 are expected to finish at the high end of the range of $2.45 to $2.75 per payable pound of copper . Higher production is expected in Q4, driven by the completion of the Mantoverde Optimized sulphide concentrator tie-in, in addition to higher expected copper grades at Mantoverde and Mantos Blancos. For more details see section Outlook. In August 2026, the Company completed the acquisition of the copper assets at the San Pietro copper-gold-iron-cobalt project , strategically located between Capstone's Mantoverde, Santo Domingo and Sierra Norte properties for total consideration of $25 million in Capstone shares. San Pietro adds approximately 16,000 hectares of highly prospective, underexplored ground to Capstone's district-scale land position, providing an immediate increase in mineral inventory and a platform for future resource growth. In September 2026, Capstone announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Cozamin mine to Luca Mining Corp. for up to $385 million in total consideration , providing proceeds that will strengthen the Company's balance sheet and provide financial flexibility to support its growth pipeline. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to the completion of customary conditions and regulatory approvals.

OPERATIONAL OVERVIEW

Refer to Capstone's Q3 2026 MD&A and Financial Statements for detailed operating results.

| | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | 2026 YTD | 2025 YTD | | Sulphide business | | | | | | Copper production (tonnes) | | | | | | Mantoverde 2 | 17,376 | 15,219 | 49,300 | 47,994 | | Mantos Blancos | 10,037 | 13,591 | 30,139 | 39,808 | | Pinto Valley | 6,358 | 9,949 | 27,115 | 30,960 | | Cozamin | 6,044 | 6,145 | 17,720 | 19,178 | | Total sulphides | 39,815 | 44,904 | 124,272 | 137,940 | | _C1 cash costs __1 __($/pound) produced _ | | | | | | Mantoverde 2 | 0.90 | 1.40 | 1.00 | 1.48 | | Mantos Blancos | 3.73 | 1.94 | 3.47 | 2.01 | | Pinto Valley | 6.11 | 3.63 | 4.35 | 3.79 | | Cozamin | 1.64 | 1.51 | 1.28 | 1.42 | | Total sulphides | 2.56 | 2.00 | 2.37 | 2.07 | | | | | | | | Cathode business | | | | | | Copper production (tonnes) | | | | | | Mantoverde 2 | 3,429 | 8,550 | 14,010 | 23,302 | | Mantos Blancos | 1,974 | 1,826 | 6,657 | 5,250 | | Total cathodes | 5,403 | 10,376 | 20,667 | 28,552 | | _C1 cash costs __1 __($/pound) produced _ | | | | | | Mantoverde 2 | 6.01 | 3.76 | 5.78 | 4.11 | | Mantos Blancos | 5.09 | 4.37 | 4.38 | 3.99 | | Total cathodes | 5.68 | 3.87 | 5.33 | 4.09 | | | | | | | | Consolidated | | | | | | Copper production (tonnes) | 45,218 | 55,280 | 144,939 | 166,492 | | _C1 cash costs __1 __($/pound) produced _ | 2.95 | 2.42 | 2.81 | 2.49 | | Copper sold (tonnes) | 45,409 | 56,368 | 142,636 | 163,480 | | Realized copper price 1 ($/pound) | 6.61 | 4.49 | 6.25 | 4.42 | | 2 Mantoverde shown on a 100% basis (Capstone Copper ownership 70%). | | | | |

Sulphide Business

Q3 2026 sulphide production of 39,815 tonnes of copper in concentrate was 11% lower than 44,904 tonnes in Q3 2025. The decrease was mainly driven by lower sulphide production at Pinto Valley due to unplanned maintenance in July and August, followed by a planned shutdown in September for the primary crusher and filter plant rebuilds, which significantly reduced sulphide plant throughput. At Mantos Blancos, production declined due to three days of planned maintenance and lower sulphide grades and recoveries, consistent with mine sequence expectations. At Cozamin, sulphide production decreased slightly due to lower grades consistent with the mine sequence. These impacts were partially offset by higher sulphide production at Mantoverde, supported by higher mill throughput and recoveries compared to Q3 2025, despite completing the critical project tie-ins for MV Optimized during a planned plant shutdown in September and adverse weather in July and August that disrupted mine access and operations, resulting in the processing of lower grade stockpiles.

Q3 2026 sulphide C1 cash costs 1 increased by 28% to $2.56/lb from $2.00/lb in Q3 2025, impacted by lower production volumes and higher unit operating costs at Mantos Blancos ($3.73/lb), Pinto Valley ($6.11/lb), and Cozamin ($1.64/lb). These impacts were partially offset by lower unit costs from Mantoverde ($0.90/lb), reflecting higher sulphide production, stronger by-product credits driven by higher gold prices, favourable treatment and refining charges and realized gains on diesel hedge contracts.

Cathode Business

Q3 2026 cathode production of 5,403 tonnes decreased by 48% from 10,376 tonnes in Q3 2025. The decline was largely driven by lower cathode production at Mantoverde, primarily reflecting a cash flow optimization strategy to reduce heap throughput of high calcium carbonate content ore, which requires higher sulphuric acid consumption per tonne and is therefore uneconomic to process at elevated sulphuric acid prices. This was partially offset by higher cathode production at Mantos Blancos, supported by improved dump grades in line with mine sequence expectations.

Q3 2026 C1 cash costs 1 for the cathode business increased to $5.68/lb from $3.87/lb in Q3 2025. The increase in cathode C1 cash costs 1 was due to lower production volumes resulting from reduced heap and dump throughput, lower heap leach grades and recoveries, and higher sulphuric acid prices. The Company continues to actively manage this business segment through grade optimization and cost hedging strategies to maintain positive margin contribution.

Consolidated Production

Q3 2026 copper production of 45,218 tonnes was 18% lower than 55,280 tonnes in Q3 2025, resulting from lower sulphide production at Mantos Blancos, Pinto Valley and Cozamin and lower cathode production at Mantoverde.

Q3 2026 C1 cash costs 1 of $2.95/lb were 22% higher than $2.42/lb in Q3 2025. Results were impacted by lower production volumes (+$0.56/lb) and higher input costs (+$0.12/lb), attributable in part to higher diesel and sulphuric acid prices, both directly and through related inputs and services. The higher costs were partially offset by higher by-product credits (-$0.04/lb), which benefited from stronger gold and silver prices, along with favourable treatment and refining charges (-$0.06/lb) and the realized gains from diesel hedge contracts in Chile (-$0.05/lb).

Mantoverde Mine (70% owned)

Q3 2026 copper production of 20,806 tonnes was 12% lower than Q3 2025 mainly due to lower cathode production (Q3 2026: 3,429 tonnes versus Q3 2025: 8,550 tonnes) resulting from lower heap throughput, partially offset by higher copper in concentrate production (Q3 2026: 17,376 tonnes versus Q3 2025: 15,219 tonnes) from higher throughput and recoveries. The lower cathode production reflects an ongoing cash flow optimization strategy to reduce heap throughput of high calcium carbonate content ore, which requires higher sulphuric acid consumption per tonne and is therefore uneconomic to process at elevated sulphuric acid prices.

Q3 2026 sulphide plant throughput averaged 32,975 tpd, 20% higher than 27,460 tpd in Q3 2025. In August 2026, sulphide plant throughput achieved a record average 40,386 tpd (July 2026: 39,304 tpd, September 2026: 18,779 tpd impacted by the planned MV Optimized shutdown). Recoveries improved to 87.7% from 85.8% in Q3 2025, reflecting improved plant performance and mill feed conditions. Sulphide copper head grade decreased to 0.65% from 0.70% in Q3 2025, as heavy rainfall in Chile caused elevated water levels in the pit, which limited access to planned ore feed and resulted in processing additional lower grade stockpiles.

Q3 2026 combined C1 cash costs 1 were $1.77/lb, 22% lower than $2.27/lb in Q3 2025. The decrease was primarily attributable to higher by-product gold credits from stronger realized gold prices (-$0.14/lb) and lower treatment and refining costs (-$0.08/lb), together with lower mining costs per payable pound due to increased capitalized stripping (-$0.37/lb), lower energy, diesel and explosive consumption (-$0.07/lb) and lower acid consumption as a result of the reduction in heap leaching (-$0.36/lb). These benefits were partially offset by higher diesel prices (+$0.16/lb) and lower production driven by the reduction in heap leaching (+$0.34/lb). Q3 2026 cathode C1 cash costs 1 were $6.01/lb, 60% higher compared to Q3 2025, mainly due to lower cathode production (+$4.45/lb), partially offset by lower acid consumption associated with reduced heap throughput (-$2.14/lb).

Mantos Blancos Mine (100% owned)

Q3 2026 production of 12,011 tonnes, composed of 10,037 tonnes of copper in concentrate from sulphide operations and 1,974 tonnes of cathode from oxide operations, was 22% lower than in Q3 2025. The decline was attributable to lower sulphide feed grades (Q3 2026: 0.66% versus Q3 2025: 1.01%) and lower recoveries (Q3 2026: 78.9% versus Q3 2025: 80.8%) driven by the planned mine sequence. Sulphide copper feed grades in Q3 2026 were also impacted by heavy rainfall in Chile that caused elevated water levels in the pit, which limited access to planned ore feed and resulted in processing additional lower grade stockpiles. Cathode production was 8% higher compared to Q3 2025 as a result of higher dump grades (Q3 2026: 0.26% versus Q3 2025: 0.15%).

Combined Q3 2026 C1 cash costs 1 of $3.96/lb ($3.73/lb sulphides and $5.09/lb cathodes) were 77% higher compared to combined C1 cash costs 1 of $2.24/lb in Q3 2025. The increase was primarily driven by lower payable copper production (+$0.63/lb), higher mining cost reflecting increased maintenance activities, more intensive drilling and blasting requirements, and lower capitalized stripping (+$0.80/lb), as well as higher diesel prices (+$0.22/lb). Processing costs (+$0.29/lb) also increased, partly due to higher sulphuric acid prices ($316/t in Q3 2026 versus $186/t in Q3 2025). These increases were partially offset by lower acid consumption (-$0.15/lb) and realized gains on diesel hedge contracts (-$0.07/lb).

Pinto Valley Mine (100% owned)

Q3 2026 copper production of 6,358 tonnes was 36% lower than Q3 2025 mainly due to 45 days of unplanned and planned downtime during the quarter. The unplanned downtime in July, August, and early September totalled 29 days and was mostly driven by reliability issues at the concentrator facilities, which was the focus of the September planned major shutdown. The major shutdown commenced on September 15 th and totalled 16 days to complete the filter plant upgrades and other plant improvements; the primary crusher rebuild continued into October.

On October 1 st , following completion of the filter plant upgrades, the plant was restarted using mobile crushers, while work continued on the primary crusher. The mobile crushers supported plant feed at approximately one third availability until commissioning of the primary crusher commenced on October 21 st . During primary crusher commissioning, additional required repairs were identified. These repairs are expected to be completed by November 2 nd , at which point operations are expected to restart. Throughout this period, operating rates and the extension of the planned maintenance shutdown and primary crusher rebuild period were also impacted by an increased frequency of localized heavy storms and strong winds in Arizona.

These events contributed to a 29% decrease in mill throughput during the quarter (Q3 2026: 25,001 tpd versus Q3 2025: 35,006 tpd). Sulphide head grade decreased by 11% (Q3 2026: 0.30% versus Q3 2025: 0.34%) in line with the mine sequence, while recoveries declined by 2.6% (Q3 2026: 86.8% versus Q3 2025: 89.1%). Despite the year-over-year decline, Q3 2026 recovery was the highest quarterly recovery year-to-date, with the decrease reflecting lower head grades and process instability from frequent plant stops and restarts. The planned shutdown at Pinto Valley is expected to reduce unplanned maintenance issues and support more stable plant operations going forward.

Q3 2026 C1 cash costs 1 of $6.11/lb were 68% higher than $3.63/lb in the same period last year, driven by lower production volumes due to major plant maintenance shutdowns (+$2.04/lb), higher input costs (+$0.32/lb), including diesel prices and contractor costs, higher treatment and selling charges (+$0.04/lb), and lower by-product credits (+$0.08/lb) resulting from lower production.

Cozamin Mine (100% owned)

Q3 2026 copper production of 6,044 tonnes was 2% lower than in Q3 2025, primarily due to lower feed grades (Q3 2026: 1.91% versus Q3 2025: 1.93%) in line with the mine sequence. Mill throughput remained consistent year-over-year (Q3 2026: 3,632 tpd versus Q3 2025: 3,622 tpd).

Q3 2026 C1 cash costs 1 of $1.64/lb were 9% higher than $1.51/lb in the same period last year, primarily driven by lower production volumes (+$0.08/lb), higher input costs (+$0.25/lb) related to higher diesel prices, increased consumables and mill maintenance spend, as well as higher transportation charges (+$0.06/lb). These impacts were partially offset by higher silver by-product credits (-$0.26/lb) resulting from stronger silver prices.

Outlook 2

The Company notes that 2026 consolidated copper production is expected to finish at the low end of the guidance range of 200 - 230kt, while 2026 consolidated C1 cash costs 1 are expected to finish at the high end of the guidance range of $2.45 - $2.75 per payable pound of copper, mainly driven by Pinto Valley and lower cathode production. Higher input costs, notably diesel and sulphuric acid, are placing upward pressure on costs.

With respect to the asset level copper production and C1 cash costs 1 guidance ranges provided in February 2026, the Company notes the following:

Mantoverde sulphides are trending towards the upper end of production and below the lower end of costs as a result of strong performance to date. Mantoverde cathodes are trending below the lower end of production and above the upper end of costs due to the mine plan optimization strategy, where oxide production was reduced to minimize exposure to elevated spot sulphuric acid purchases, resulting in lower cathode production by approximately 5 - 8kt. Mantos Blancos is trending towards the mid-point of production and above the upper end of costs as a result of higher input costs. Pinto Valley is trending below the lower end of production and above the upper end of costs, driven by recurring unplanned maintenance and a prolonged plant shutdown, in addition to higher input costs. Cozamin is trending towards the mid-point of production and below the lower end of costs as a result of strong by-product silver prices.

Capstone's total consolidated capital expenditure guidance (including sustaining, expansionary, capitalized stripping, and exploration) has been increased by $40 million to $830 million, largely driven by higher capitalized stripping as a result of higher diesel prices and changes in mine sequence at Mantoverde.

In 2027, the Company expects a similar level of copper cathode production to 2026 based on current elevated sulphuric acid prices, with flexibility to increase cathode production if sulphuric acid prices decline. Subsequent to the reporting period, the Company entered into approximately 6,000 tonnes of zero cost copper collars for 2027 in order to ensure a margin on a portion of its higher cost copper cathode production. The collars have an average floor price of LME copper $6.00/lb and an average ceiling price of LME copper $7.24/lb.

| 2 2026 consolidated copper production, C1 cash cost and capital expenditure guidance include a full-year of Cozamin results, which is pending sale to Luca Mining Corp., see press release dated September 21, 2026 for details. |

KEY UPDATES

Capstone Copper has expansion optionality across its portfolio with a combination of attractive brownfield and greenfield opportunities in top-tier mining jurisdictions in the Americas. Capstone Copper is advancing these growth opportunities, which are at various stages. A potential sanctioning decision for each project is subject to a variety of factors, including macroeconomic conditions.

Cozamin Divestiture

On September 21, 2026, the Company entered into a definitive agreement with Luca Mining Corp. (“Luca”) to sell its Cozamin mine in Zacatecas, Mexico, together with certain related entities and its obligations under the Silver PMPA, for total consideration of up to $385.0 million. The consideration comprises: