08:44 AM EDT, 07/08/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Capstone Copper ( CSCCF ) said on Tuesday that it secured an environmental permit for an expansion project at the Mantoverde mine in Chile.

The environmental permit from the Atacama Regional Environmental Assessment Commission is the only major permit required to develop the Mantoverde Optimized project, Capstone said. The project is expected to cost US$150 million and provide additional copper production of 20,000 tonnes per annum.

"We have been eagerly awaiting this permit and are excited to begin construction, pending required board approvals, to increase our throughput capacity by over 40% at very low capital intensity," said Cashel Meagher, Capstone's president and CEO.

The company said the project will expand the throughput of the Mantoverde mine's sulfide concentrator to 45,000 ore tonnes per day (tpd) from 32,000 tpd.

The project will also extend the mine life to 25 years from 19 years, Capstone said.