Capstone Appoints Santo Domingo General Manager and Awards EIS Contract

VANCOUVER, Canada, September 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Juan Carlos Alfaro Appointed General Manager of Chilean Operating Subsidiary;
Knight Piésold awarded contract for preparation of Santo Domingo Environmental Impact Study;
Drilling Program Underway at Santo Domingo Site

Capstone Mining Corp. (TSX: CS) today announced the appointment of Juan Carlos Alfaro as General Manager of Capstone's 70% owned Chilean operating subsidiary, with responsibility for the development of Capstone's Santo Domingo Iron Oxide-Copper-Gold ("IOCG") project ("Santo Domingo" or the "Project") in Region III, Chile.  The Project is owned 70% by Capstone and 30% by Korea Resources Corporation ("KORES").

Capstone also announced the awarding of the contract for the Santo Domingo Environmental Impact Study ("EIS") to Knight Piésold S.A. ("Knight Piésold"), to be led by its Santiago office.  They will also coordinate the evaluation process through to permitting.

"We are very fortunate to have an executive of Juan Carlos' experience join us to oversee our operations in Chile," said Darren Pylot, President and CEO of Capstone.  "He is well known in Chile and in the area of the Santo Domingo Project, having spent much of his career in the mining industry in Chile and more specifically in Region III, with projects owned by Barrick, Kinross, Placer Dome, Minera Mantos de Oro and Codelco.  We expect to advance the project rapidly under his leadership."

"In addition, Knight Piésold has the EIS well underway and is on track to submit the permit applications to the Chilean regulatory authorities in the fourth quarter of 2012, in accordance with the schedule contemplated in the Pre-Feasibility Study," continued Mr. Pylot.  "In addition, geotechnical drilling required for the Feasibility Study has commenced and an infill drilling program is expected to be underway shortly."

Juan Carlos Alfaro

Mr. Alfaro is a senior executive with over 30 years of experience in Chile's mining industry, with previous management responsibilities at projects and operations owned by Barrick Gold, Kinross Gold, Placer Dome and Exxon Minerals.

Most recently Mr. Alfaro was General Manager of the Cerro Casale Project (Barrick/Kinross JV), one of the world's largest undeveloped gold-copper projects in Region III, Chile.  He had responsibility for creating the in-country organization to operate and support the development of the project, including staffing and permitting strategy.  Prior to that he was General Manager and President of the Board of Directors of Compañía Minera Purén, a JV between Compañía Minera Mantos de Oro and Codelco Chile, where he led the development of the Purén gold and silver mining operation in Region III from the beginning stages of exploration through to the construction, start up and operation.  He was also General Manager of Compañía Minera Mantos de Oro (Placer/Kinross JV), the operator of the La Coipa Gold Mine in Region III, which was recognized under Mr. Alfaro's leadership by both the community and the JV partner for its commitment to the community and sustainability. He has also consulted as Mining Project Director for projects in Peru and Southern Chile with Metalica Consultores S.A.

Mr. Alfaro is a Civil Mining Engineer (Universidad de Chile), a graduate of Queen's University Executive Development Program and holds a Diploma in Finance from the Universidad Adolfo Ibañez in Chile.

Environmental Impact Study

Capstone has awarded the contract for preparation of the Santo Domingo EIS to Knight Piésold, an international consulting company providing engineering and environmental services for the mining, power, water, transportation and construction sectors.

Knight Piésold will have responsibility throughout the environmental permitting process, from the ongoing collection of all relevant baseline information, the completion of the EIS document, its presentation to authorities and process follow up, including community consultation activities, until the Environmental Qualification Resolution is obtained from the Chilean authorities.  With more than 750 professionals worldwide, Knight Piésold is particularly known for their environmental work that respects social, environmental and economic responsibilities.

Santo Domingo Drilling Program

A geotechnical drilling program consisting of 15 holes, commenced at the Santo Domingo site in mid-August 2011, to provide Feasibility Study level geotechnical information for the final pit design and on site installations.  An infill drilling program, consisting of 60 holes, is planned to start in September to upgrade the classification of the first three years of the mine mineral reserves.

About Capstone Mining Corp.

Capstone Mining Corp. is a TSX listed Canadian mining company with two producing copper mines in the Americas: the Cozamin copper-silver-zinc-lead mine located in Zacatecas State, Mexico and the Minto copper-gold-silver mine in Yukon, Canada.

Using its operations as a springboard, Capstone aims to grow organically and through acquisitions in politically stable, mining-friendly jurisdictions, with a focus in the Americas: organic growth through continued mineral resource and reserve expansions as well as expanding operations at its operating mines, development of its large scale 70% owned Santo Domingo copper-iron-gold project in Chile in partnership with Korea Resources Corporation, development of its Kutcho copper-zinc-gold-silver project in British Columbia and exploration at properties in Chile, British Columbia and Australia. Capstone's cash flow and strong balance sheet provide the platform to enhance that growth profile. Capstone is included in the S&P/TSX Composite Index and S&P/TSX Global Mining Index. Additional information is available at http://www.capstonemining.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This document may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this document and Capstone Mining Corp. (the "Company") does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required under applicable securities legislation.

Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect Company management's expectations or beliefs regarding future events and include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the estimation of mineral reserves and mineral resources, the realization of mineral reserve estimates, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures, success of mining operations, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, title disputes or claims and limitations on insurance coverage. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative of these terms or comparable terminology. By their very nature forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, risks related to actual results of current exploration activities; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of mineral resources; possible variations in ore reserves, grade or recovery rates; accidents; dependence on key personnel; labour pool constraints; labour disputes; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities; and other risks of the mining industry as well as those factors detailed from time to time in the Company's interim and annual financial statements and management's discussion and analysis of those statements, all of which are filed and available for review  under the Company's profile on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.  Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements.

For further information:
Capstone Mining Corp.
Cindy Burnett, VP, Investor Relations
Telephone: +1-604-637-8157
Email: cburnett@capstonemining.com

Website: http://www.capstonemining.com

(CS.)