McEwen Copper Secures $70 Million Financing to Progress Los Azules Copper Project
- 25-Jun-2024 7:00 PM
- Journalist: Jacob Kutchner
McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE and TSX: MUX) has announced a non-brokered private placement financing, offering up to 2,333,333 common shares of its wholly-owned subsidiary, McEwen Copper Inc., at a subscription price of US$30.00 per share. This offering aims to raise gross proceeds of up to US$70 million. Currently, McEwen Copper has 30,937,615 common shares outstanding, both basic and diluted.
McEwen Mining and Rob McEwen have committed lead orders representing 27% of the total Offering. McEwen Mining plans to purchase up to 466,667 common shares of McEwen Copper for US$14 million, while Rob McEwen intends to buy up to 166,666 common shares for US$5 million. The final investment amounts may be adjusted based on anti-dilution and pre-emptive rights held by other existing shareholders of McEwen Copper.
The proceeds from this Offering will be allocated to advancing the bankable feasibility study for the Los Azules copper project, with publication anticipated by the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Qualified accredited investors are invited to subscribe for the remaining 1,700,000 common shares, with a minimum investment requirement of US$2 million and other specified conditions. The securities sold in the Offering are private and will be subject to transfer restrictions until they are listed on a public exchange.
Before the Offering, McEwen Mining holds 14,768,000 common shares (47.7%) of McEwen Copper, and Rob McEwen owns 4,000,000 common shares (12.9%). If the Offering is fully subscribed and the specified investments are made, McEwen Mining's ownership will be 45.8%, while Rob McEwen's stake will be 12.5%.
McEwen Copper Inc. owns 100% of the Los Azules copper project in San Juan, Argentina, and the Elder Creek project in Nevada, USA.
Los Azules is recognized as the 8th largest undeveloped copper deposit globally (Mining Intelligence, 2022). Recent assessments indicate current copper resources totaling 10.9 billion pounds at a grade of 0.40% Cu (Indicated category) and an additional 26.7 billion pounds at a grade of 0.31% Cu (Inferred category) as of the June 2023 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). The PEA forecasts an after-tax NPV8% of $2.7 billion at a copper price of $3.75/lb, with a low average C1 production cost of $1.07/lb Cu, a payback period of 3.2 years, and a mine life of 27 years.
McEwen Mining is actively engaged in gold and silver production across Nevada, Canada, Mexico, and Argentina. Moreover, it holds a significant ownership stake of approximately 47.7% in McEwen Copper, which oversees the Los Azules copper project in Argentina—a substantial and well-advanced initiative. The company is committed to enhancing asset productivity and longevity, aiming to drive up its stock value and deliver returns to shareholders.