McEwen Inc. (NYSE: MUX) (TSX: MUX) announced that its 46.3%-owned portfolio company, McEwen Copper, has appointed Societe Generale as sole financial advisor to structure and arrange project debt financing for construction of the Los Azules copper project in San Juan province, Argentina. The financing package is expected to include a mix of export credit agency support, commercial bank debt, multilateral and development finance institution facilities, and potential capital markets instruments as the project advances toward development.
The appointment of Societe Generale marks a critical step for McEwen Copper as it seeks to secure funding for the large, long-life, advanced-stage copper project. According to McEwen Inc., the Los Azules project is designed to be one of the world's first regenerative copper mines and aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2038. Its Feasibility Study results were announced in a press release dated October 7, 2025.
The significance of this development extends beyond McEwen Copper. Copper is a critical metal for the global energy transition, used extensively in electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, and electrical infrastructure. The Los Azules project, located in Argentina's San Juan province—a region that hosts some of the country's largest copper deposits—could help meet rising demand for copper while setting new environmental standards for mining.
For McEwen Inc., the advancement of Los Azules represents a potential major value driver. The company holds a 46.3% interest in McEwen Copper, and according to the last financing for McEwen Copper, the implied value of McEwen's ownership interest is US$456 million, or US$7.67 per share. McEwen shares trade on both the NYSE and TSX under the ticker MUX.
McEwen Inc. provides its shareholders with exposure to a growing base of gold and silver production in addition to the copper development project. The company's gold and silver mines are located in prolific mineral-rich regions, including the Cortez Trend in Nevada, USA, the Timmins district of Ontario, Flin Flon in Manitoba, and the Deseado Massif in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. McEwen is also reactivating its gold-silver El Gallo Mine in Mexico.
Chairman and Chief Owner Rob McEwen has invested over US$250 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 ultimately implement a dividend policy, as he did while building Goldcorp Inc.
In addition to its mining interests, McEwen 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.
The successful financing and development of Los Azules could have far-reaching implications for the copper industry, demonstrating that large-scale mining can be both economically viable and environmentally responsible. For investors, the project represents a potential catalyst for McEwen Inc.'s stock, while for the global energy transition, it could provide a sustainable source of copper needed for electrification.
