McEwen Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• McEwen swung to a profitable first quarter, reporting net income of $33.4 million, or $0.56 per share, versus a loss a year earlier. Revenue more than doubled, helped by higher gold and silver prices and stronger operating execution.
• The company outlined an ambitious growth plan to reach 250,000 to 300,000 gold-equivalent ounces annually by 2030. Key contributors are expected to include Stock and Grey Fox in Ontario, Tartan in Manitoba, plus expansion at Gold Bar in Nevada and El Gallo in Mexico.
• Los Azules remains a major long-term catalyst, with McEwen Copper targeting a final investment decision by the end of 2026 and construction in early 2027. Management said the project’s financing path is being advanced through a planned 40% equity / 60% debt structure and ongoing discussions with strategic partners and lenders.

McEwen NYSE: MUX reported a sharp first-quarter turnaround and outlined plans to expand gold production while advancing its large copper project in Argentina, according to management comments on the company’s first-quarter 2026 earnings call.

Chairman and Chief Owner Rob McEwen said the company generated net income of $33.4 million, or $0.56 per share, compared with a net loss of $6.3 million, or $0.12 per share, in the same period last year. He attributed the improvement to stronger operating performance, higher gold and silver prices and “more disciplined execution.”

Chief Financial Officer Perry Ing said revenue from the company’s wholly owned operations more than doubled from a year earlier, driven by higher gold and silver prices. Ing said McEwen ended the quarter with $57 million in cash, up from $51 million at the start of the year, despite continued spending on the Stock mine ramp.

McEwen Targets Higher Gold Production by 2030

Rob McEwen said the company is working toward producing 250,000 to 300,000 gold equivalent ounces per year by 2030 while maintaining a strong balance sheet. He said the company intends to pursue growth through internal funding and minimize dilution.

At the Fox Complex in Timmins, Ontario, McEwen said underground development at the Stock mine remained on budget in the first quarter. Initial production is expected in late 2026, with commercial production planned for next year. A pre-feasibility study for Grey Fox is expected in the coming months. Together, Stock and Grey Fox are targeted to produce 75,000 to 90,000 gold equivalent ounces annually by 2030.

The company is also advancing the Tartan mine project in Manitoba. McEwen said the project has an updated resource of 309,000 indicated ounces and 303,000 inferred gold ounces. The company is targeting initial production of 30,000 ounces per year, with potential to reach 45,000 to 55,000 ounces annually.

Across Canada, McEwen said production is expected to rise from 16,000 to 19,000 ounces this year to 105,000 to 120,000 ounces by 2030. At Gold Bar in Nevada, he said operational optimization and exploration could lift gold production to 90,000 to 100,000 ounces by 2030. In Mexico, the company expects improvements at El Gallo to increase production to as much as 20,000 ounces by 2030.

CFO Details Funding Plan for Growth Projects

Ing said McEwen received an $8.8 million dividend during the quarter from Minera Santa Cruz, which owns the San José mine in Argentina. He said the company expects to receive an additional $30 million to $40 million in dividends over the balance of the year, assuming continued strong gold and silver prices.

For 2026, Ing said McEwen expects to spend about $50 million in project capital from the second through fourth quarters. That includes approximately $35 million to complete Stock mine development and related costs, as well as about $15 million for construction at El Gallo in Mexico, expected to begin in the second half of the year.

Looking to 2027, Ing said the capital spending profile could roughly double to about $100 million as the company finishes work in Mexico and begins work on Grey Fox and Nevada expansion projects. He said free cash flow from operations and dividends from Minera Santa Cruz are expected to exceed $200 million at current gold prices, with “a significant buffer” even if gold prices fall to $4,000 per ounce.

For 2028 and 2029, Ing said capital costs could rise to about $150 million, subject to permitting timelines. He said production from Mexico and increased output from the Fox Complex should provide more than $250 million in annual cash flow, which he said would be sufficient to support the growth plan without additional shareholder dilution.

Los Azules Financing and IPO Plans Remain in Focus

McEwen’s 46.3% interest in McEwen Copper was valued at approximately $456 million, or about $7.67 per McEwen share, based on the most recent McEwen Copper financing, Rob McEwen said. The company’s Los Azules copper project in Argentina is expected to enter production in 2030 and is targeting carbon neutrality by 2038.

Michael Meding, Managing Director of McEwen Copper, said first-quarter work at Los Azules focused on preparing for a final investment decision, or FID. He said detailed engineering is advancing across drilling, access roads, heap leach pads, stockpiles, major equipment packages, trade-off studies and partner selection.

Meding said the total financing path from FID to full operation is approximately $4 billion. McEwen Copper has raised more than $450 million in private financings from 2021 through 2025, including from Rob McEwen, Rio Tinto, Stellantis, McEwen Inc. and others.

In January, McEwen Copper established a $240 million secured loan facility with an accordion feature. Meding said Rob McEwen, McEwen Inc. and Chief Operating Officer William Shaver have committed about one-quarter of the facility, with the remainder still open to additional participants. He said the facility covers the company’s pre-FID budget of about $197 million, including a cash need of approximately $161 million.

For the post-FID financing package, Meding said McEwen Copper is targeting a capital structure of 40% equity and 60% debt. He said the company is in the final stages of appointing debt financing leads, with a focus on export credit agency financing and other project debt components. The International Finance Corporation has expressed interest in serving as a lead arranger for project debt financing, he said.

On the equity side, Meding said McEwen Copper is in active discussions with potential strategic partners, with a preference for a senior mining partner and an industrial or trading counterparty for offtake alignment. He said the objective is to reach FID by the end of 2026, with construction beginning in early 2027, subject to financing and approvals.

During the question-and-answer session, Rob McEwen said plans for a potential McEwen Copper IPO have not changed. He said no banker has been selected and the company is still evaluating whether to list in Canada or the United States. Meding said the company is moving ahead with the work required for a potential IPO in the second half of the year.

Exploration Updates Span Nevada, Manitoba and Ontario

Executive Vice Chairman Ian Ball highlighted the company’s 1.25% royalty on Los Azules, saying the royalty could generate cash flow “well in excess of half a billion dollars” over the 22-year mine life outlined in the project study, based on spot copper prices. He said additional mine life under a scenario using Nuton technology, as well as potential gold and silver revenue streams, were not included in that figure.

Ball also discussed exploration progress at the Gold Bar complex in Nevada, saying current reserves and resources total about 1.25 million ounces, with a Trinity Ridge resource still to come. He said recent drilling at Windfall and the acquisition of Golden Lake could help the deposit continue to grow.

At Grey Fox, Ball said drilling returned encouraging high-grade results approximately 90 meters below the area expected to be covered in the upcoming pre-feasibility study. At Tartan, he said the company has encountered four or five deeper drill holes with widths of 15 to 50 meters grading 4 to 5 grams per tonne, starting at about 1,000 meters depth.

In response to an analyst question on Gold Bar, Shaver said the company is working to advance drilling needed to support mine planning and studies for the broader complex. He described a strategy built around heap leaching and carbon recovery, with loaded carbon transported to the existing Gold Bar plant for gold recovery, which he said could keep capital costs relatively low.

Rob McEwen closed the call by saying the company remains focused on advancing its projects and building long-term value.

About McEwen NYSE: MUX

McEwen Mining Inc NYSE: MUX is a Canada-based precious metals company focused on the exploration, development and production of gold, silver and copper. Headquartered in Toronto, the company pursues a diversified portfolio of assets across the Americas, with operations and projects spanning Argentina, Mexico, Canada and the United States. McEwen Mining employs an integrated approach that combines in-house technical expertise with strategic partnerships to advance its assets from resource definition through to commercial production.

The company's flagship producing asset is the San José mine in Argentina, a high-grade silver-gold operation.

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