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Hudbay Announces Updated Technical Report for Constancia

MarketwiredNovember 21, 2016

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - November 21, 2016) - HudBay Minerals Inc. ("Hudbay" or the "company") (HBM) (HBM) announced that it has filed an updated National Instrument 43-101 technical report in respect of its 100% owned Constancia mine in Peru (the "2016 Technical Report"). The 2016 Technical Report includes updates of the mine plan, reserves and resources, throughput and capital and operating costs for the remaining life of mine at Constancia. All dollar amounts are in US dollars, unless otherwise noted.

Summary:

  • The mine plan incorporates the high-grade Pampacancha satellite deposit and contemplates average annual production of 110,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate over the next five years (2017-2021) at a weighted average cash cost, net of by-product credits, of $0.97 per pound of copper, and a weighted average sustaining cash cost, net of by-product credits, of $1.27 per pound of copper (including the impact of capitalized stripping and the precious metal stream agreement with Silver Wheaton)1
  • Mining of Pampacancha is planned to begin in 2018 with total project capital costs estimated at $54 million2
  • Forecast life-of-mine ("LOM") unit on-site operating costs of $7.91 per tonne milled before capitalized stripping, an 8% decrease from the equivalent LOM forecast in the company's previous technical report on Constancia, which was filed in 2012
  • Contained copper in reserves increased by 34% from 2017 through the end of mine life compared to the 2012 technical report, reflecting the previously reported increase in Constancia reserve tonnage

A summary of the updated mine plan is shown below:

     Units   2017E   2018E   2019E   2020E   2021E     5 Year
Average
  LOM
Average1
Mine Plan Summary                                  
Ore mined   million tonnes   34.6   34.1   27.7   32.2   31.8     32.1   30.5
Waste mined   million tonnes   38.4   39.1   33.8   36.9   37.0     37.0   34.0
Strip ratio   waste:ore   1.1   1.1   1.2   1.1   1.2     1.2   1.1
Ore milled   million tonnes   30.9   31.0   30.9   31.0   30.9     30.9   30.7
Copper grade milled   % Cu   0.41%   0.39%   0.44%   0.40%   0.42%     0.41%   0.30%
Copper recovery   % Cu   85.0%   86.0%   86.6%   87.0%   87.1%     86.3%   88.6%
Copper concentrate produced   thousand dry metric tonnes   426   417   418   379   399     408   294
Molybdenum concentrate produced   thousand dry metric tonnes   0.5   3.4   3.8   4.2   3.6     3.8   3.1
Copper production2   thousand tonnes   107   104   118   107   113     110   81
Molybdenum production2   thousand tonnes   0.3   1.7   1.9   2.1   1.8     1.9   1.6
Gold production2   thousand oz   23   40   94   81   102     68   34
Silver production2   thousand oz   2,848   2,523   2,577   2,667   3,232     2,770   2,090
Total on-site costs (excluding   impact of capitalized stripping)3   $/t milled   $8.43   $8.09   $7.92   $8.03   $8.22     $8.14   $7.91
Total on-site costs (including   impact of capitalized stripping)3   $/t milled   $7.84   $7.53   $7.74   $7.55   $7.80     $7.69   $7.39
Cash Cost4                                  
Cash cost   $/lb Cu   $1.30   $1.09   $0.81   $0.86   $0.83     $0.97   $1.28
Sustaining cash cost   $/lb Cu   $1.83   $1.34   $1.01   $1.15   $1.08     $1.27   $1.62
Capital Expenditures                                  
Sustaining capital   $ million   $103   $34   $42   $51   $48     $55   $41
Capitalized stripping   $ million   $18   $17   $5   $15   $13     $14   $16
Total sustaining capital
(including capitalized stripping)
  $ million   $121   $51   $47   $66   $61     $69   $57
Pampacancha capital   $ million   $11   $29   $13   $1   $1     $11   -

Totals may not add up correctly due to rounding.

1 Life-of-mine average calculated from 2017-2035.

2 Production refers to contained metal in concentrate.

3 On-site costs include mining, milling and G&A costs.

4 Cash cost and sustaining cash cost are reported net of by-product credits, are calculated at reserve prices ($3.00 per pound copper, $11.00 per pound molybdenum, $18.00 per ounce silver, $1,260 per ounce gold) and include the impact of the precious metals stream and capitalized stripping. Cash cost includes on-site and off-site costs, and sustaining cash cost includes the addition of royalties and sustaining capital, but excludes Pampacancha project capital.

For additional detail, refer to the full 2016 Technical Report, which is available under Hudbay's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Non-IFRS Financial Performance Measures

Cash cost and sustaining cash cost, net of by-product credits, per pound of copper are shown because the company believes they help investors and management assess the performance of its operations, including the margin generated by the operations and the company. These measures do not have a meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures prepared in accordance with IFRS and are not necessarily indicative of operating profit or cash flow from operations as determined under IFRS. Other companies may calculate these measures differently. For further details on these measures, including reconciliations of our cash cost and sustaining cash cost, net of by-product credits, per pound of copper produced for the third quarter of 2016 to the most comparable IFRS measures, please refer to page 28 of Hudbay's management's discussion and analysis for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and EDGAR at www.sec.gov.

Qualified Person

The technical and scientific information in this news release has been approved by Cashel Meagher, P. Geo, our Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Meagher is a qualified person pursuant to NI 43-101. For a description of the key assumptions, parameters and methods used to estimate mineral reserves and resources, as well as data verification procedures and a general discussion of the extent to which the estimates of scientific and technical information may be affected by any known environmental, permitting, legal title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing or other relevant factors, please refer to the 2016 Technical Report as filed by us on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Note to United States Investors

This news release has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the securities laws in effect in Canada, which may differ materially from the requirements of United States securities laws applicable to U.S. issuers.

Information concerning the Constancia mine has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Canadian securities laws, which differ in material respects from the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") set forth in Industry Guide 7. Under the SEC's Industry Guide 7, mineralization may not be classified as a "reserve" unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time of the reserve determination, and the SEC does not recognize the reporting of mineral deposits which do not meet the SEC Industry Guide 7 definition of "Reserve".

In accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") of the Canadian Securities Administrators, the terms "mineral reserve", "proven mineral reserve", "probable mineral reserve", "mineral resource", "measured mineral resource", "indicated mineral resource" and "inferred mineral resource" are defined in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (the "CIM") Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves adopted by the CIM Council on May 10, 2014. While the terms "mineral resource", "measured mineral resource", "indicated mineral resource" and "inferred mineral resource" are recognized and required by NI 43-101, the SEC does not recognize them. You are cautioned that, except for that portion of mineral resources classified as mineral reserves, mineral resources do not have demonstrated economic value. Inferred mineral resources have a high degree of uncertainty as to their existence and as to whether they can be economically or legally mined. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Therefore, you are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource exists, that it can be economically or legally mined, or that it will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Likewise, you are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of measured or indicated mineral resources will ever be upgraded into mineral reserves.

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