El Capitan Precious Metals, Inc. (OTC/BB:ECPN) announced today that the Company has sent the following letter to Company shareholders:

El Capitan Precious Metals, Inc.
Letter to Shareholders
 
January 4, 2013

Dear Shareholders:

Our Company, El Capitan Precious Metals, Inc., had a very eventful 2012. We are now in the last step of our strategic plan, having the investment bank market the El Capitan property.

The Company has three different assets:

  • The 250 acres with 141 million tons of measured resources.
  • The approximately 2,800 additional acres of which 2,000 acres are presently being prepared to allow prospective buyers to drill up to 100 exploration drill holes.
  • 960 acres with two anomalies that our consulting geologist recommended and which have been surface sampled.

A. From the 250 acres with the 141 million tons, the Company crushed mined ore from 2,000 tons of head ore. This ore was run over vibrating gravity tables. The Company produced approximately 200 tons of concentrates from the 2,000 tons of head ore.

  1. From these concentrates 200 pounds was processed using the Sundancer method and utilizing silver-lead as a collector. The 41 ounces of silver collected was sold to a refiner, Gannon and Scott, which would be the equivalent of 41 ounces of silver per ton of head ore. This dore bar also assayed with .19 ounces of gold per ton of head ore.
  2. The Company then used the Sundancer method to process 20 pounds of the concentrate. The results were even more productive, producing 19 ounces of silver which would be the equivalent of 190 ounces of silver per ton of head ore. This bar was sold to a private investor.
  3. To get a manageable size to assay we sampled nine one-pound samples. These samples averaged 158 ounces of silver per ton of head ore, with the gold assaying at .14 ounces per ton.
  4. This past July the Sundancer method was then used on 20 samples of head ore that were chain of custody. They averaged 77 ounces of silver per ton and .13 ounces of gold per ton.
  5. In October we had Proven Technologies process 700 pounds of concentrates which assayed at 179 ounces of silver per ton. During this test, Proven Technologies did not recover any gold. However, in all the later tests, Proven Technologies did recover gold.
  6. All five of these tests had varying amounts of silver and gold and all had values of over one ounces per ton of gold equivalent. Our continued research has enabled the improvement in the recovery metals. All of the samples assayed using the Sundancer method were read by Inspectroate Corporation, one of the leading metallurgical firms in the world.

B. Our consulting firm, AMEC Environment and Consulting, has taken the permitting for the approximately 100 exploration drill holes to the final stages where the prospective purchasers of the property can take it to conclusion.

The Company presently has no plans to drill the property. However, the Company believes having the 2,000 acres ready to be drilled adds additional value to the property.

C. This year we added 240 acres of mineral rights on patented land to our 720 acres of BLM land and contributed them to our wholly owned subsidiary, ECPN Technologies.

The Company is in the process of assigning to its subsidiary, ECPN Technologies, the 2,800 acres of BLM leased land of which the 2,000-acre parcel is being permitted for drilling. The Board of Directors will consider spinning off the subsidiary to its shareholders in the form of a stock dividend if appropriate in connection with a sale transaction.

The Company believes that the information that has been given to its investment banker is adequate for the sale of the property. We are continuing to work on the concentrating methods that would cut the costs of production and are continuing our research to improve the commercial production of the Sundancer silver-lead recovery process. For instance, recently we tried using a magnetic separator to remove the iron before the smelting process, which reduced the amount of iron ore that is processed, thereby improving the cost effectiveness of the metals recovery. These additional efforts should create added value to our property. We believe that our "Production Demonstration Project" which will show that the Sundancer process works on small amounts of ore, such as the 200-pound dore bar production, also confirms our ability to produce at a commercial production level. This work is in addition to the information that has already been provided to our investment banker.

As has been previously announced, we have added Frank Capilla to our team to manage shareholder relations. I have known him for approximately two years. He is a large shareholder and very knowledgeable about the mining industry.

We look forward to the sale of the El Capitan property and the management team is focused on making this happen as soon as possible.

Chuck Mottley, President and CEO
El Capitan Precious Metals, Inc.

About El Capitan Precious Metals, Inc.:

El Capitan Precious Metals, Inc. is an exploration stage precious minerals company based in Scottsdale, Arizona that is principally engaged in the exploration of precious metals and other minerals. The Company's primary asset is its wholly owned subsidiary El Capitan, Ltd., an Arizona corporation, which holds the 100% equity interest in the El Capitan property located near Capitan, New Mexico.

www.elcapitanpmi.com

Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement:

The statements included in this press release concerning predictions of economic performance and management's plans and objectives constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Words such as "expect(s)," "feel(s)," "believe(s)," "will," "may," "anticipate(s)" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the expected completion, timing and results of metallurgical testing, interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits, results of initial feasibility, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies and expectations with respect to the engaging in strategic transactions. All of such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of the Company, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. Specifically, there can be no assurance regarding the timing and terms of any transaction involving the Company or its El Capitan property, or that such a transaction will be completed at all. In addition, there can be no assurance that periodic updates to the Company's geological technical reports will support the Company's prior claims regarding the metallurgical value and make-up of the ore on the New Mexico property. Additional risks and uncertainties affecting the Company include, but are not limited to, the possibility that future exploration, development, testing or mining results will not be consistent with past results and/or the Company's expectations; discrepancies between different types of testing methods, some or all of which may not be industry standard; the ability to mine precious and other minerals on a cost effective basis; the Company's ability to successfully complete contracts for the sale of its products; fluctuations in world market prices for the Company's products; the Company's ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals; the Company's ability to obtain financing for continued operations and/or the commencement of mining activities on satisfactory terms; the Company's ability to enter into and meet all the conditions to consummate contracts to sell its mining properties that it chooses to list for sale; and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof, and we do not undertake any obligation to revise and disseminate forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of or non-occurrence of any events.

El Capitan Precious Metals, Inc.
Frank Capilla, Investor Relations
480-440-1449