McEwen Secures Key Permit for El Gallo Mine; Mill Construction to Begin Mid-2026 – First Gold Pour Mid-2027
McEwen Inc. (NYSE:MUX) (TSX: MUX) is pleased to announce that the extension of its Environmental Impact Assessment (Manifestación de Impacto Ambiental) for the El Gallo Mine has been granted by the Mexican government. This approval is a critical step that will allow McEwen to begin Phase 1 Mill Construction. The Company is targeting mid-2026 for construction start, and mid-2027 for its first gold pour. McEwen has purchased the ball mill, which is onsite at the mine. The Company has also started work on Phase 2, which will involve production from the project’s in-situ silver deposits. This could extend the life of El Gallo well beyond the initial 10 years contemplated under Phase 1.
Phase 1 is expected to produce approximately 20,000 GEOs (Gold Equivalent Ounces) annually once commercial production is achieved. Production will come from reprocessing the material from the historical leach pad. Remaining capital costs to complete construction are estimated at $25 million. Since the material to be processed was previously mined, no significant development or exploration costs are anticipated, enhancing free cash flow.
Historical Silver Resources
For the El Gallo and district satellite deposits, historical silver resources total 53.1 million ounces in the Measured and Indicated categories and 31 million ounces in the Inferred category for areas that have not currently been mined (El Gallo Complex Phase II Project, NI 43-101 Technical Report Feasibility Study, September 10, 2012, Table 1). Resources were calculated using a silver price of $28.50 per ounce and a gold price between $950 and $1,500 per ounce. This estimate is historical in nature; a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources and should therefore not be relied on or considered as current. The Company will be updating the resource estimates for El Gallo in 2026, based on the currently known resource areas.
About McEwen
McEwen shares trade on both the NYSE and TSX under the ticker MUX.
McEwen provides its shareholders with exposure to a growing base of gold and silver production in addition to a very large copper development project, all in the Americas. The gold and silver mines are in prolific mineral-rich regions of the world: the Cortez Trend in Nevada, USA, the Timmins district of Ontario, Canada, and the Deseado Massif in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. McEwen is also reactivating its El Gallo gold and silver mine in Mexico.
The Company has a 46.4% interest in McEwen Copper, which owns the large, long-life, advanced-stage Los Azules copper development project in San Juan province, Argentina – a region that hosts some of the country’s largest copper deposits. According to the last financing for McEwen Copper, the implied value of McEwen’s ownership interest is US$456 million.
The Los Azules copper project is designed to be one of the world’s first regenerative copper mines and carbon neutral by 2038. Its Feasibility Study results were announced in the press release dated October 7, 2025.
McEwen also recently purchased 27.3% of Paragon Advanced Labs Inc., a newly listed public company that is deploying PhotonAssay™ units around the world, a technology that the Company believes is poised to become the new industry standard for assaying precious and base metals, with Paragon aiming to be one of the leading service providers.
Chairman and Chief Owner Rob McEwen has invested over US$200 million personally and takes a salary of $1 per year, aligning his interests with shareholders. He is a recipient of the Order of Canada, a member of the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame and a winner of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year (Energy) award. His objective is to build MUX’s profitability, share value and eventually implement a dividend policy, as he did while building Goldcorp Inc.
