Capstone Mining Corp. TSX:CS
Suite 1980 - 1055 West Hastings St.
Vancouver, B.C. V6E 2E9
Tel: (604) 684-8894
Fax: (604) 688-2180

Capstone Reports Record Operating Profit Of $15.9 Million For The First Quarter

April 29, 2008

Vancouver, B.C. - Capstone Mining Corp. ("Capstone") announces its financial results for the first quarter of 2008 including production and sales for the Cozamin mine located in Zacatecas State, Mexico.  All dollar amounts are stated in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated.

Overview and Highlights

• Record operating profit of $15.9 million or $0.20 per share

• Record revenue of $29.5 million.  The average realized price for sales of copper, zinc, lead and silver in the quarter was $3.59/lb, $1.21/lb, $1.33/lb and $8.40/oz respectively.

• Earnings of $15.7 million or $0.19 per share before recording an unrealized loss on derivative instrument of $12.4 million (a non-cash item) related to our forward copper sales and before current and future income taxes of $2.8 million. Forward copper sales average price through 2011 is $3.18.  Earnings after the above were $0.5 million or $0.01 per share.

• Copper production during the quarter was 6.0 million lbs compared with 2.8 million lbs for the three months ended February 28, 2007.

• At March 31, 2008, Capstone had working capital of $56 million and no bank debt. In addition, the fair market value of Capstone's share ownership of Silverstone Resources Corp. is approximately $65 million, which is not included in working capital.

• Copper cash costs for the quarter were $0.98/lb of copper (net of by-product credits and including smelter, refining, transportation and all site costs). 

• Total costs (the aggregate of cash costs, royalty, depletion and amortization and accretion) for the quarter were $1.18/lb.

• Capstone continued its share buyback plan and purchased an additional 219,900 common shares on the open market at an average price of CDN$2.78.  The shares have been returned to treasury and cancelled under its normal course issuer bid.

Cozamin Mine

Q1 - 2008 Production and Sales Highlights

• Capstone produced the following metals during the quarter.
• 6.0 million pounds of copper
• 2.3 million pounds of zinc
• 1.7 million pounds of lead
• 338,000 ounces of silver

• Concentrate sales for the quarter contained;
• 6.9 million pounds of copper
• 0.7 million pounds of zinc
• 1.3 million pounds of lead
• 306,000 ounces of silver

Concentrate inventory at March 31, 2008 was 8,856 DMT (containing 1.4 million pounds of copper, 4.0 million pounds of zinc and 0.8 million pounds of lead).

March 31, 2008 Production Results and Forecast for 2008 and 2009

The following table is a summary of the actual operating statistics for the three months ended March 31, 2008 and the three months ended February 28, 2007.

Note: Silver reports to all concentrates.

First Quarter 2008 Highlights

Copper

• Copper in concentrate produced during the quarter was 6.0 million pounds of copper, three months ended February 28, 2007 was 2.8 million.

• Copper concentrate sales for the quarter were 14,960 dry metric tons ("DMT"), containing 6.9 million pounds of copper, three months ended February 28, 2007 was 2.1 million.

• The average price for sales of copper in the period was $3.59/lb.

• Copper concentrate inventory at March 31, 2008 was 2,919 DMT, a decrease in inventory from the 5,631 DMT of concentrate on hand at December 31, 2007.

• Silver in the copper concentrate produced during the period totaled 257,000 ounces.    

• Copper production was lower in February and March as the Company was mining lower grade upper levels due to the expansion projects on the higher grade lower levels.                                                                                                     

Zinc

• Zinc in concentrate produced during the quarter was 2.3 million pounds of zinc, three months ended February 28, 2007 was 1.2 million.

• Zinc sales for the period were 1,077 DMT, containing 0.7 million pounds of zinc, there were no sales during the three months ended February 28, 2007.

• The average price for sales of zinc in the period was $1.21/lb.

• Zinc concentrate inventory at March 31, 2008 was 5,375 DMT, an increase in inventory from the 3,804 DMT of concentrate on hand at December 31, 2007.

• Silver in the zinc concentrate produced during the period totaled 16,000 ounces.

Lead

• Lead in concentrate produced during the quarter was 1.7 million pounds of lead, three months ended February 28, 2007 was 0.5 million.

• Lead concentrate sales for the period were 1,076 DMT, containing 1.3 million pounds of lead, three months ended February 28, 2007 was 1.4 million.

• The average price for sales of lead in the period was $1.33/lb.

• Lead concentrate inventory at March 31, 2008 was 562 DMT, an increase in inventory from the 358 DMT of concentrate on hand at December 31, 2007.

• Silver in the lead concentrate produced during the period totaled 65,000 ounces.

Mill Expansion Project

Capital expenditures are budgeted at $10 million to further expand the facility to 3,000 tpd which is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter this year.

Labour

There were 2 minor lost time accidents during the period from both operations and construction.  The number of personnel at the end of the period was 600, of which approximately 80 were contractors related to the expansion project.

Q1 - Actual Sales and Costs

Financial Results

The information in this news release and the selected financial information contained in the following pages should be read in conjunction with the Interim Consolidated Financial Statements and Management Discussion and Analysis for the three months ended March 31, 2008, which will be available at Capstone's website at www.capstonemining.com and at www.sedar.com.

The Company's operating profit for the three months ended March 31, 2008 was $15.9 million or $0.20 per share compared to operating profit of $3.9 million or $0.05 per share for the three months ended February 28, 2007.  The Company's net earnings for March 31, 2008 were $0.5 million or $0.01 per share compared to $3.3 million or $0.04 per share for February 28, 2007.

The Company reported revenues for the three month period of $29.5 million (February 28, 2007 - $9.1 million).  Revenues consisted of copper concentrate sales of $24.6 million, zinc concentrate sales of $0.6 million, lead concentrate sales of $1.7 million and silver concentrate sales of $2.6 million.   

Cost of sales for the three month period was $7.5 million (February 28, 2007 - $2.7 million), treatment and transportation charges were $4.4 million (February 28, 2007 - $1.3 million), royalty charges were $0.6 million (February 28, 2007 - $0.5 million) and depletion was $0.8 million (February 28, 2007 - $0.6 million).

For the three month period ended March 31, 2008, the Company recorded an unrealized loss related to mark-to-market on the outstanding derivative contracts in the amount of $12.4 million (February 28, 2007 - $Nil) related to our forward copper sales. Forward copper sales average price through 2011 is $3.18.

Glencore International AG and Trafigura Beheer B.V. purchases the concentrates produced by the Cozamin mine pursuant to the terms of a written contract.  

Capstone Mining Corp.
Selected Financial Information

Interim Consolidated Balance Sheets

Interim Consolidated Statements of Operations

Capstone will host a conference call on Wednesday, April 30 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time (11:00 AM Eastern Time) to discuss these results. The conference call may be accessed by dialing 1.866.365.1119 in North America or 1.416.849.7329 internationally, please ask for the Capstone Mining Corp. conference call. The conference call will be archived for later playback until May 7, 2008 and can be accessed by dialing 1.866.501.5559 and the passcode is 21270030#. 

ABOUT CAPSTONE

Capstone is a Canadian based mining company currently operating the 100% owned Cozamin copper-silver-lead-zinc mine located in Zacatecas State, Mexico. Capstone has approximately 81.9 million shares outstanding and is well financed with no bank debt. More information is available online at: www.capstonemining.com.

For further information about the Company, please contact:
Chris Tomanik or Mark Patchett, Telephone: (604) 684-8894 / Facsimile: (604) 688-2180
Email: ctomanik@capstonemining.com or mpatchett@capstonemining.com