Long intercepts with good grades

222.0 m of 0.95% Cu including 44.0 m of 1.38% Cu (AZ22158)
238.0 m of 0.58% Cu including 10.0 m of 1.10% Cu (AZ22161)
194.0 m of 0.56% Cu including 8.0 m of 1.04% Cu (AZ22163)

TORONTO, Aug. 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- McEwen Copper Inc., a subsidiary of McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE: MUX) (TSX: MUX), is pleased to report the latest assay results from its Los Azules project, which continues to deliver long intercepts of good grades.

The drill program underway has three important objectives:

Improve confidence in the resource by converting Inferred mineral resources to the Indicated category;
Accelerate project advancement with metallurgical, hydrological and geotechnical drilling and
Test the limits of the depth extension of the higher-grade mineralization.
Results from this drilling program will be used to update the 2017 Los Azules PEA (Preliminary Economic Assessment). The updated version will be released in Q1, 2023.

The 2017 PEA was calculated using prices of $3/lb copper, $1,300/oz gold and $17/oz silver price. It projected robust economics, driven by large operating margins, large annual production, a short payback period and long mine life (link to the report: http://www.mcewenmining.com/files/technical_reports/los_azules/LosAzulesPEA_Rev0_20171016.pdf). Drilling has halted for the winter and will resume in October when spring arrives in Argentina.

Earlier this year, Mining Intelligence ranked Los Azules as one of the world’s top five largest undeveloped porphyry copper deposits that is not already owned by a major mining company.

The opportunity to expand the deposit at depth remains open for further testing. While the median depth of drill holes within the Los Azules resource database is 175 meters (m), it is not uncommon for porphyry copper mineralization to extend well beyond a kilometer or more of depth. Numerous drill holes have encountered strong copper grades below the 2017 PEA pit bottom. Only three holes have been drilled to a depth of a kilometer and all encountered mineralization.

The highest-grade mineral domains at Los Azules are clearly the hydrothermal and magmatic breccias and late-stage quartz veins which can extend kilometres to depth. There are numerous examples of such deposits in Argentina and Chile. The most recent is Filo Mining’s spectacular assay results of earlier this year. The Filo deposit is 300 kilometres north of Los Azules, also in the San Juan province, Argentina.

The deepest occurrence of a breccia at Los Azules is at a hole depth of some 810 m in drill hole AZ1299 and deepest occurrence of late-stage quartz veins is found at 990 m down the same hole.

A dedicated exploration program associated with higher grade domains at Los Azules has not yet been conducted. Most holes drilled to date are vertical and intersect the breccias at very low angles. Improving our understanding of the nature and distribution of the highest-grade mineral zones at Los Azules is a priority for the upcoming drilling seasons.

The most recent drill results are presented below in the cross-section Figures 1 to 4. These display the current inclined and historic vertical holes, with histograms of total copper content along their length, overlayed on a simplified interpretation of overburden, leached, enriched and primary mineral zones, and the 30-year pit shell (shown by green line), as defined by the 2017 PEA.

Section 30-30', shown in Figure 1, includes hole AZ22158, with an attractive intercept of 222.0 m grading 0.95% Cu, and including an interval of 44.0 m grading 1.38% Cu. Partial results were reported in the Los Azules Progress Report #3 published on June 23, 2022. Hole AZ22166 was stopped at the arrival of winter and will be completed in spring.

Figure 1 – Cross-section 30-30’

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