TORONTO, June 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE: MUX) (TSX: MUX) is pleased to provide an update on our Gold Bar and Black Fox operations and mine exploration drilling.

Black Fox Mine, Canada (100% Interest)

Mining at Black Fox was suspended from March 26th to April 14th to allow time for management to evaluate and adapt to operating with the risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Since April 14th the mine has been operating following corporate and provincial COVID-19 guidelines. We are pleased to relay that the local health unit indicates that no new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the Timmins region since May 10th. The temporary suspension and subsequent staged ramp-up back into production impacted our mining plan for 2020 and we are in the process of adjusting production forecasts. Guidance for the second half of 2020 will be provided with our Q2 results. Development mining remains on target and focussed on increasing access to additional mining areas.

Underground exploration drilling along the upper west flank of the Black Fox mine (see Figure 1) encountered high-grade results within 400 feet (120 m) to the west of the nearest mining area. Infill drilling also returned very high grades close to existing workings. More underground development and drilling will be further required to demonstrate continuity of the mineralization on the west extension of the mine. The occurrence of high-grade gold intersections suggests the potential to define new gold resources to the west. Selected 2020 drilling intersections include:

Hole ID Hole Type From
(m) To
(m) Core Length (m) Estimated True Width (m) Au Grade
(g/t)
335-EX877-05 Exploration 167.70 171.00 3.3 3.0 11.4
Including 167.70 168.18 0.5 0.4 57.7
335-EX877-07 Exploration 180.90 183.77 2.9 2.6 79.2
Including 180.90 182.00 1.1 1.0 197.5
Including 183.00 183.77 0.8 0.7 11.8
335-EX877-26 Exploration 186.80 188.80 2.0 1.7 62.4
Including 186.80 187.66 0.9 0.7 145.0
300-B832-09 Infill 10.06 12.82 2.8 2.2 34.0
Including 10.06 10.65 0.6 0.5 14.0
Including 11.20 12.00 0.8 0.6 93.7
300-B890-04 Infill 21.00 24.15 3.2 2.5 162.3
Including 21.00 21.50 0.5 0.4 1,009.2
340-FR399-03 Infill 37.50 41.00 3.5 2.7 19.9
Including 38.50 40.00 1.5 1.2 37.5
And 68.70 71.00 2.3 1.8 13.7
340-FR399-06 Infill 27.10 29.10 2.0 1.7 54.1
Including 28.00 29.10 1.1 1.0 97.8
300-F888-32 Infill 40.00 44.00 4.0 3.8 40.6
Including 40.00 41.00 1.0 1.0 152.5
300-F888-40 Infill 54.10 57.00 2.9 2.4 776.6
Including 54.10 55.00 0.9 0.7 2,488.2
300-L828-37 Infill 38.77 50.86 12.1 10.9 5.3
Including 44.80 45.90 1.1 1.0 16.9


A complete summary of new underground drilling results from Black Fox is available

Figure 1: Black Fox Mine – Longitudinal Section

http://mcewenmining.com/files/doc_news/archive/2020/20200600_drilling/Fig_1_bf.pdf

Progress on the twin ramps to access the Froome deposit encountered a temporary delay in order to recondition the pit wall above the access portals. Priority work on the pit wall has been completed and ramp development resumed on June 16th. Gold production from Froome remains on target for late 2021.

The resource estimate for our Grey Fox target area, 2 miles (3.2 km) southeast of the Black Fox mine, was updated and increased by 43% (see news release from May 19th, 2020) to 888,000 gold ounces at 7.1 g/t in the Indicated category, with an additional 173,000 gold ounces grading 6.6 g/t in the Inferred category. Work on conceptual engineering and permitting is advancing, and we expect to commence an economic study later this year. Trade-off evaluations are expected to include open pit and underground mining scenarios with a production objective of at least 100,000 ounces of gold per annum from the existing Stock Mill. We plan to accelerate development of the Grey Fox Project to coincide with the completion of mining at the Froome deposit.

At the Stock property our exploration team is designing surface drilling to infill and evaluate the growth potential of the Stock West mineralized zone discovered in 2019 (see news release from October 28th, 2019). We are also assessing the potential of reopening the historic Stock mine in order to provide underground access to the Stock East and Stock West mineralized zones.

Gold Bar Mine, USA (100% Interest)

Mining at Gold Bar was suspended on April 1st and restarted May 6th at the Pick West deposit on a one shift per day basis. An updated resource estimate and mine plan is expected to be completed in early Q3. Fortunately, to date we have not had any COVID-19 cases among our workforce.

Infill and confirmation drilling conducted in and around the Pick pit since mid-March 2020 (see Figure 2) has increased our confidence in the revised geologic model and demonstrated potential near mine exploration opportunities to the southwest and northeast. Selected intersections from the infill drilling program in Pick West include:

Hole ID Hole Type From
(ft) To
(ft) Core Length (m) Core Length
(ft) Au Grade
(g/t)
GB650 Infill 90.0 235.0 44.2 145.0 1.2
GB651 Infill 10.0 100.0 27.4 90.0 3.4
Including 16.8 55.0 5.4
GB658 Infill 95.0 205.0 33.5 110.0 1.5
GB660 Infill 315.0 500.0 56.4 185.0 3.2
GB661 Infill 47.1 143.0 29.2 95.9 2.4
GB662 Infill 71.3 179.5 33.0 108.2 1.9
GB664 Infill 30.0 120.0 27.4 90.0 2.7
GB665 Infill 40.0 150.0 33.5 110.0 3.2
GB669 Infill 12.4 76.8 19.6 64.4 5.1
Including 5.2 17.2 11.3
GB670 Infill 180.0 290.0 33.5 110.0 1.5
GB672 Infill 60.0 290.0 70.1 230.0 1.4
GB676 Infill 266.9 349.0 25.0 82.1 2.9
Including 12.2 40.0 5.3
GB755 Infill 315.0 425.0 22.9 75.0 3.0
GB762 Infill 260.0 485.0 68.6 225.0 1.7


A complete summary of new surface diamond and reverse circulation drilling results from Gold Bar is available

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