McEwen Copper Secures $240 Million Loan for Los Azules Copper Mine Development

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 27, McEwen Copper completed a $240 million senior secured term loan facility with a 4-year term. The funds will be used for engineering design, pre-construction work, and general corporate purposes for the Los Azules copper project in San Juan Province, Argentina. McEwen Inc. currently holds a 46.3% equity stake in McEwen Copper.

The loan is provided by a group of lenders, with Sprott Natural Resource Investment Partners contributing $112 million, McEwen Chairman and major shareholder Rob McEwen providing $85 million, and the remaining lenders collectively contributing $43 million. The loan carries an annual interest rate of 12% on the principal, payable monthly, with principal due at maturity after 4 years. In the event of early full or partial repayment, in addition to the remaining principal and accrued interest, a fee equivalent to 5% of the remaining principal is also required. Lenders will also receive 15,000 warrants for McEwen Copper common shares for every $1 million of loan principal, with a 5-year term and an exercise price of $40 per share.

McEwen Copper is simultaneously preparing a larger project debt financing for Los Azules. Société Générale was appointed as exclusive financial advisor in May of this year, and preparations for a potential initial public offering are also progressing in parallel. The latest arrangement targets the completion of a final investment decision and full project financing by mid-2027, with the goal of achieving commercial copper cathode production by 2030, subject to the completion of financing and related approvals. Earlier this year, the company had targeted the final investment decision for the end of 2026; this financing announcement updates the timeline to mid-2027.

Project engineering work continues to advance. Over 5,600 meters of drilling have been completed for the 2025–2026 field program, with geotechnical results to be used to further optimize the open-pit mine design. Confirmatory drilling has validated the proposed location for the northeastern waste rock storage facility. Engineering work for key process equipment packages, including solvent extraction–electrowinning, the sulfuric acid plant, and the crushing system, has been awarded to Metso. The mining fleet tender is in its final evaluation stage, and the EPCM contractor is expected to be selected in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Los Azules completed its feasibility study in 2025. The study determined initial capital expenditure of approximately $3.17 billion for the project, with proven and probable ore reserves of approximately 1.023 billion tonnes at an average copper grade of 0.453%. The project employs open-pit mining, heap leaching, and solvent extraction–electrowinning processes, with plans to directly produce LME Grade A copper cathodes. Average annual copper cathode production is projected at 204,800 tonnes for the first 5 years of operation and 148,200 tonnes per year over the life of the mine.