Capstone Copper Reports Results of Phase 1 Drill Program at Mantoverde

|Capstone Copper

Capstone Copper Corp. (“Capstone” or the “Company”) (TSX:CS) (ASX:CSC) is pleased to report initial exploration results from its Phase 1 drill program at Mantoverde in the Atacama region of Chile. Phase 1 included 30,000-metres of drilling focused on areas adjacent to the Mantoverde Optimized (“MV-O”) Pit Reserves, as well as priority targets located just north of the current operation. Assay results for the Phase 1 drill program have been received for approximately 24,700-metres of the 30,000-metre drill program.

Figure 1: Mantoverde Site Map, including location of current pits, Mantoverde Optimize Pit Reserves and Phase 1 drill locations

Figure 1: Mantoverde Site Map, including location of current pits, Mantoverde Optimize Pit Reserves and Phase 1 drill locations

To view an interactive 3D presentation, please visit: https://vrify.com/decks/19778

Highlights are listed below, with corresponding images in Figures 1-5 and detailed results in Tables 1-2, including:

  • Higher than expected grades in the Brecha Flores sector, where drill intercepts returned copper grades above those predicted by the current block model, including:
    • DDH25DS16: 176m of 0.77% copper from 654m, including 24m of 1.50% copper
    • DDH25DS28: 162m of 0.73% copper from 660m, including 18m of 1.07% copper
    • DDH25DS01: 144m of 0.65% copper from 528m, including 18m of 1.88% copper
  • Results consistent with the current block model at Mantoverde Sur (“MVS”) and Mantoverde Norte (“MVN”), enhancing confidence and supporting the potential upgrade of the resource categorization, including:
    • DDH25DS24: 146m of 0.52% copper from 314m, including 34m of 1.07% copper
    • DDH25DS26: 274m of 0.39% copper from 318m, including 20m of 1.30% copper
    • DDH25DS09: 62m of 0.23% copper from 178m, including 64m of 0.62% copper
  • Strong results along the Santa Clara Corridor confirming the presence of higher grades than the current block model with the potential for resource growth in between active pits, including:
    • DDH25DS08: step-out drilling returned 376m of 0.43% copper from 674m, including 64m of 0.98% copper
    • DDH25DS32: 100m of 0.43% copper from 656m, including 42m of 0.62% copper
    • DDH25DS27: 82m of 0.77% copper from 740m, including 30m of 1.04% copper
  • Results from step-out drilling continue to demonstrate extension of the mineralization to the north of the current Mantoverde pit into the Animas area, confirming continuity along strike, including:
    • DDH25DS21: 102m of 0.41% copper from 96m, 26m of 0.46% copper from 248m, and 46m of 0.49% copper from 316m
    • DDH25DS25: 112m of 0.45% copper from 126m, including 28m of 0.67% copper
  • District-scale exploration potential with the completion of a 10-kilometre Induced Polarization (IP) geophysical survey along the northern corridor, which has informed the location of high-priority targets that will be tested in Phase 2 of the drill program

Cashel Meagher, Capstone’s President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are excited by the initial results from the Phase 1 drill program at Mantoverde, which we envision will improve our grade profile in the near-to-medium term highlighted by the results in the Brecha Flores sector. The results from step-out drilling at Animas and the Santa Clara Corridor are also very encouraging, highlighting the potential for future expansion projects such as Mantoverde Phase II. This early success supports our commitment to building a world-class, long-life copper district in the Tier 1 jurisdiction of Atacama, Chile. We look forward to advancing Phase 2 of the exploration program, which focuses on the highly prospective northern corridor of our Mantoverde concession and will continue to inform further opportunities for growth within our Mantoverde-Santo Domingo district.”

The Phase 1 drill program represents a portion of the ongoing two-year exploration program at Mantoverde, which is expected to total approximately $25 million and include 61,500-metres of drilling. There are currently up to seven drill rigs operating on site at Mantoverde.

Phase 1 consisted of 30,000-metres of drilling focused on areas adjacent to the Mantoverde Optimized Pit Reserves, including MVS, Brecha Flores, and MVN, aiming to improve copper grades and mineralization continuity within and near the pit boundaries. Phase 1 also included testing of priority targets located just north of the current Mantoverde pit at the Santa Clara Corridor and Animas. The initial results support the potential for resource growth and reserve conversion. Drilling has also intersected mineralization in areas assumed to be waste in the current life of mine plan and may have favourable implications on future stripping ratios. The results also confirm our understanding of the geological model and provide additional confidence in potential future expansion plans.

Phase 2 will include two main areas of focus and is expected to commence in Q4 2025. ~20,000 metres will be follow-up drilling at the targets adjacent to the northern portion of the pit, with the goal of improving grades and adding mineralization. The remaining ~11,500 metres of drilling will include testing of high-priority targets along the 10-kilometre-long northern corridor, which were defined based on the results of the induced polarization (“IP”) geophysical survey completed in Q1 2025.

Table 1 - DRILL RESULTS

Hole ID

From

(m)

To

(m)

Length

(m)

Cu

(%)

Au

(g/t)

Co

(ppm)

CuEq3

(%)

Brecha Flores

DDH24DS02

400

452

52

0.65

0.39

4232

1.01

and

486

504

18

0.57

0.17

136

0.72

DDH25DS01

528

672

144

0.65

0.11

268

0.79

including

648

662

18

1.88

0.29

181

2.12

DDH25DS02

410

432

22

0.23

0.09

143

0.32

and

566

646

80

0.52

0.11

331

0.67

including

608

646

38

0.69

0.14

4902

0.90

DDH25DS12

100

122

22

0.60

0.20

128

0.76

and

630

802

172

0.53

0.10

378

0.69

including

670

802

132

0.64

0.12

405

0.82

including

722

786

64

0.89

0.15

306

1.06

DDH25DS14

450

566

116

0.52

0.12

5432

0.73

including

516

522

6

2.03

0.42

771

2.49

DDH25DS15

240

294

54

0.68

0.13

72

0.78

including

246

264

18

1.35

0.26

56

1.54

including

248

256

8

2.09

0.38

74

2.36

and

316

340

24

0.59

0.13

77

0.70

and

402

508

106

0.65

0.16

186

0.80

including

422

486

64

0.81

0.19

200

0.98

including

422

428

6

1.49

0.29

130

1.71

including

476

482

6

1.76

0.41

459

2.14

DDH25DS16

654

830

176

0.77

0.14

453

0.97

including

686

702

16

1.21

0.21

500

1.47

including

764

788

24

1.50

0.25

445

1.77

DDH25DS19

372

454

82

0.50

0.10

265

0.63

including

386

398

12

1.38

0.26

363

1.64

DDH25DS20

696

782

86

0.83

0.16

4882

1.05

including

750

782

32

1.40

0.27

7912

1.77

including

778

782

4

3.72

0.46

950

4.25

DDH25DS28

660

822

162

0.73

0.14

306

0.90

including

670

688

18

1.07

0.22

398

1.31

including

770

786

12

1.24

0.19

486

1.48

Santa Clara Corridor

DDH25DS03

254

298

44

0.38

0.06

32

0.43

and

366

508

142

0.39

0.05

36

0.43

including

446

502

56

0.57

0.03

21

0.60

including

480

502

22

0.83

0.01

28

0.84

DDH25DS08

362

404

42

0.55

0.05

34

0.59

and

584

596

12

0.46

0.21

178

0.64

and

674

1050

376

0.43

0.13

166

0.56

including

674

738

64

0.98

0.32

243

1.25

including

714

738

24

1.79

0.54

341

2.23

DDH25DS13

336

408

72

0.44

0.10

20

0.51

including

340

350

10

1.06

0.12

11

1.14

including

374

400

26

0.55

0.17

24

0.67

and

578

582

4

0.79

0.10

254

0.92

and

640

652

12

0.42

0.76

294

1.00

and

756

760

4

0.83

0.17

162

0.98

and

840

844

4

0.70

0.18

96

0.84

DDH25DS27

740

822

82

0.77

0.24

217

0.98

including

778

808

30

1.04

0.34

277

1.33

DDH25DS32

104

114

10

0.23

0.05

No data1

0.26

and

656

756

100

0.43

0.13

155

0.55

including

672

714

42

0.62

0.23

254

0.83

Animas

DDH25DS21

96

198

102

0.41

0.02

7

0.43

and

248

274

26

0.46

0.02

10

0.48

and

316

362

46

0.49

0.02

27

0.51

DDH25DS25

126

238

112

0.45

0.03

17

0.47

including

126

170

44

0.39

0.05

25

0.43

including

200

228

28

0.67

0.03

5

0.69

DDH25DS35

164

180

24

0.28

0.02

18

0.30

MVS and MVN

DDH24DS01

464

506

42

0.32

0.13

104

0.43

DDH25DS04

420

548

128

0.38

0.12

82

0.48

including

454

484

30

0.51

0.11

145

0.62

DDH25DS05

404

514

110

0.46

0.18

110

0.61

including

464

490

26

0.94

0.21

195

1.13

DDH25DS06

240

258

18

0.36

0.06

39

0.41

and

316

324

8

1.10

0.18

27

1.23

and

390

416

26

0.35

0.05

65

0.40

and

472

498

26

0.59

0.08

229

0.70

and

522

540

18

0.46

0.09

172

0.56

DDH25DS07

396

448

52

0.71

0.16

264

0.88

including

418

448

30

1.05

0.22

307

1.27

and

476

496

20

0.38

0.07

218

0.48

DDH25DS09

178

240

62

0.23

0.07

72

0.29

including

202

240

38

0.27

0.07

75

0.33

and

256

282

26

0.21

0.04

94

0.26

and

322

386

64

0.62

0.13

233

0.76

including

326

348

22

0.95

0.21

340

1.17

DDH25DS10

366

414

48

0.28

0.10

80

0.37

including

382

406

24

0.36

0.13

90

0.47

and

508

544

36

0.25

0.08

97

0.33

and

572

630

58

0.40

0.09

180

0.50

DDH25DS11

224

242

18

0.50

0.14

96

0.62

and

394

416

22

0.61

0.31

590

0.96

and

436

456

20

0.44

0.09

202

0.55

DDH25DS17

420

488

68

0.43

0.11

303

0.57

including

438

456

18

0.88

0.20

451

1.12

DDH25DS18

388

460

72

0.56

0.10

313

0.70

DDH25DS22

282

296

14

0.39

0.10

96

0.48

and

402

416

14

0.56

0.10

494

0.74

DDH25DS23

516

524

8

0.50

0.13

179

0.63

and

558

588

30

0.20

0.06

82

0.26

DDH25DS24

314

460

146

0.52

0.25

119

0.72

including

408

442

34

1.07

0.21

119

1.24

and

506

562

56

0.55

0.11

206

0.67

including

532

546

14

0.94

0.21

145

1.11

DDH25DS26

318

592

274

0.39

0.09

173

0.49

including

448

468

20

1.30

0.28

303

1.56

DDH25DS29

354

472

118

0.47

0.11

212

0.59

including

438

464

26

0.73

0.14

203

0.87

DDH25DS30A

396

436

40

0.35

0.08

185

0.45

DDH25DS31

242

288

46

0.37

0.08

131

0.45

and

340

372

32

0.30

0.10

146

0.40

DDH25DS33

242

386

144

0.40

0.08

101

0.48

including

330

380

50

0.63

0.14

178

0.77

DDH25DS34

420

478

58

0.49

0.12

287

0.64

DDH25DS36

384

432

48

0.69

0.16

252

0.86

including

384

406

22

1.12

0.26

381

1.38

and

474

506

32

0.36

0.07

171

0.45

  1. Copper equivalent (“CuEq”) in the above table and this press release has been calculated using the following formula: Cu grade + [Au grade in g/t x (67.87% Au metallurgical recovery / 90.44% Cu metallurgical recovery) x ($2,600/oz Au price / 31.1035) / ($4.25/lb Cu price x 2204.623)] + [Co grade in ppm x (60% Co metallurgical recovery / 90.77% Cu metallurgical recovery) / ($15.00/lb Co price / $4.25/lb Cu price)]. Hole DDH25DS32 with “No data” for Co assumed a 0 value for Co.
  2. Values over limits in Co (2,000 ppm).

Table 2 - DRILL HOLE LOCATION

Hole ID

Easting

Northing

Elevation

Azimuth

Dip

Target

Brecha Flores

DDH24DS02

369510

7061427

894

270

83

720

DDH25DS01

369361

7062074

1021

267

79

780

DDH25DS02

369721

7061786

936

270

58

770

DDH25DS12

369751

7061965

982

270

60

950

DDH25DS14

369541

7061591

920

270

85

750

DDH25DS15

369550

7061206

890

269

53

560

DDH25DS16

369580

7062068

1068

269

71

900

DDH25DS19

369506

7061346

888

271

80

600

DDH25DS20

369775

7061876

946

269

68

850

DDH25DS28

369660

7062008

1028

271

64

908

Santa Clara Corridor

DDH25DS03

368725

7064622

889

270

74

610

DDH25DS08

368442

7065034

869

131

60

1050

DDH25DS13

368454

7065356

860

131

60

880

DDH25DS27

368407

7064883

883

131

56

822

DDH25DS32

368764

7064626

887

315

86

770

Animas

DDH25DS21

368180

7065580

858

268

75

470

DDH25DS25

368321

7065151

862

271

70

430

DDH25DS35

368343

7065234

859

272

60

690

MVS

DDH25DS04

369087

7060984

938

78

59

690

DDH25DS07

370154

7060505

915

272

63

550

DDH25DS09

369896

7060750

894

271

70

480

DDH25DS11

370042

7060554

905

274

70

470

DDH25DS17

370148

7060436

936

270

63

600

DDH25DS18

369816

7060962

918

269

55

550

DDH25DS22

369859

7060896

919

270

55

500

DDH25DS23

369184

7060884

931

89

70

600

DDH25DS29

369920

7060833

920

267

72

537

DDH25DS31

370058

7060249

945

270

49

450

DDH25DS33

370036

7060553

905

270

55

460

DDH25DS34

370143

7060507

914

268

49

530

DDH25DS36

370016

7060702

920

274

73

540

MVN

DDH24DS01

369235

7062673

1007

268

59

600

DDH25DS05

369124

7062965

984

272

67

610

DDH25DS06

369010

7063163

953

274

82

670

DDH25DS10

369256

7063296

956

271

55

680

DDH25DS24

369034

7063087

956

270

81

700

DDH25DS26

369008

7063003

962

227

90

663

MANTOVERDE OPERATION SUMMARY

Mantoverde (70%-owned by Capstone Copper and 30%-owned by Mitsubishi Materials Corporation) is an open-pit copper-gold mine located in the Atacama region of Chile. Since the 1990s, Mantoverde operated as an oxide mine producing copper cathodes from its 60,000 tonnes per annum capacity SX-EW plant. In 2023, Capstone Copper completed construction of the Mantoverde Development Project (“MVDP”) that enabled the mine to process its copper sulphide reserves, in addition to existing oxide reserves. The MVDP involved the addition of a sulphide concentrator and tailings storage facility, and the expansion of the existing desalination plant and other minor infrastructure. First saleable copper concentrate at MVDP was produced in June 2024 and commercial production was achieved in September 2024. In Q3 2025, Capstone Copper began development of the Mantoverde Optimized (“MV-O”) brownfield expansion, which is expected to increase total copper production at Mantoverde by approximately 20,000 tonnes per annum.

For further details, please see the press release dated October 1, 2024 announcing the results of the Mantoverde Optimized Feasibility Study and the updated Mineral Reserve and Resource estimate as at December 31, 2024 per the 2024 Annual Information Form.

QA/QC PROGAM

At Mantoverde, drill core is logged, photographed and cut in half with a hydraulic splitter at the Company’s on-site facilities. Half of the core is retained for reference, and the other half is sampled at regular 2.0-metre intervals. Sample preparation and analysis are performed by Geolaquim and GeoAssay, both certified independent laboratories. Copper, cobalt and other elements are determined by four-acid digestion with atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Gold assays are performed by fire assay with atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Drill samples from the Phase 1 drill program have been monitored through Capstone quality assurance and quality control (“QA/QC”) program, which follows internal operational procedures and industry best practices. The QA/QC program includes the routine insertion of certified standards (5%), coarse blanks (5%), fine blanks (5%), coarse duplicates (5%) and pulp duplicates (5%), yielding a blended QC insertion rate of approximately 25%.

QA/QC VALIDATION

The QA/QC validation process undertaken for the Phase 1 drill program of the Project is consistent with the process set out in the NI 43-101 technical report with respect to Mantoverde operation, titled “Mantoverde Mine, NI 43-101 Technical Report and Feasibility Study, Atacama Region, Chile”, dated November 14, 2024 with an effective date of July 1, 2024 and Capstone internal guidelines and best practices.

NOTE ON NI 43-101 COMPLIANT TECHNICAL REPORT

The conversion of drill results in this press release into NI 43-101 compliant mineral resources or mineral reserves required additional work and analysis that remains ongoing.

QUALIFIED PERSONS

Peter Amelunxen, P.Eng., Senior Vice President, Technical Services of Capstone Copper, a Qualified Person (“QP”), as defined by NI 43-101 reviewed and approved the content of this news release including the scientific and technical information.

About Capstone Copper Corp.

Capstone Copper Corp. is an Americas-focused copper mining company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Capstone’s operating portfolio of assets includes the Pinto Valley copper mine located in Arizona, USA, the Cozamin copper-silver mine located in Zacatecas, Mexico, the Mantos Blancos copper-silver mine located in the Antofagasta region, Chile, and the Mantoverde copper-gold mine, located in the Atacama region, Chile. Capstone’s growth pipeline includes the fully permitted Santo Domingo copper-iron-gold project, located approximately 35 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 production 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 value. We are committed to creating a positive impact in the lives of our people and local communities, while delivering compelling returns to investors by responsibly producing copper to meet the world’s growing needs.

Further information is available at www.capstonecopper.com

Non-GAAP and Other Performance Measures

“Expansion capital” and “sustaining capital” are Alternative Performance Measures. Alternative performance measures are furnished to provide additional information. These non-GAAP performance measures are included in this presentation because these statistics are key performance measures that management uses to monitor performance, to assess how the Company is performing, to plan and to assess the overall effectiveness and efficiency of mining operations. These performance measures do not have a standard meaning within IFRS and, therefore, amounts presented may not be comparable to similar data presented by other mining companies. These performance measures should not be considered in isolation as a substitute for measures of performance in accordance with IFRS. For full information, please refer to the Company’s latest Management Discussion and Analysis published on its Financial Reporting webpage or on SEDAR+.

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