What McEwen Copper does

McEwen Copper Inc. is a privately-held Canadian corporation (incorporated in Ontario, headquartered at 150 King Street West, Toronto) and a majority-owned subsidiary of McEwen Inc. (NYSE/TSX: MUX, 46.3% stake), founded in 2021 to develop large-scale copper assets. Its flagship asset is the Los Azules copper project in San Juan Province, Argentina — among the world's top 10 undeveloped copper deposits with 10.2 billion pounds of Proven & Probable reserves at 0.45% Cu grade, plus 20.0 billion pounds Inferred. The project uses open-pit mining with heap leach processing and solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) to produce LME Grade A copper cathodes on site, eliminating conventional tailings facilities, consuming 74% less fresh water and 48% less electricity than milling/concentrator alternatives, and operating under a 100% renewable power agreement with YPF Luz.

The business model is development-stage and asset-centric: the company has raised $453 million in private placements since 2021 (implying a $987 million market value on 32.9 million shares), signed a $2.4 billion senior debt facility in May 2026 with Societe Generale as sole financial advisor, and is targeting a ~$300 million IPO in Q4 2026 to fund an estimated $2.8-3.2 billion construction program. First copper cathode production is targeted for 2029-2030, with a base-case Feasibility Study projecting 327 million pounds (148,200 tonnes) of cathode annually over a 21-year mine life, C1 cash costs of $1.71/lb, peak annual revenue potential of $3.2-3.6 billion at $4.00/lb copper, and after-tax NPV of $2.9 billion at 19.8% IRR. Strategic equity holders Stellantis (18.3%) and Nuton/Rio Tinto (17.2%) provide both capital and embedded offtake/technology partnerships, with planned direct cathode sales to electric vehicle manufacturers, data center operators, and clean energy infrastructure developers.

The asset is regulated by Argentina's RIGI framework (admitted September 2025, 30-year fiscal stability) and benefits from an approved Environmental Impact Assessment (December 2024), IFC alignment for environmental and social standards, and engagement with US Export-Import Bank and US International Development Finance Corp as part of the ~$4 billion financing stack. Rob McEwen is founder and Chief Owner of the parent; the subsidiary currently sits at 251-500 employees and is not yet revenue-generating, with all cash flow economics dependent on copper prices, construction execution, and successful transition to commercial production.

Name

McEwen Copper

Legal name

McEwen Copper Inc.

Website

https://mcewencopper.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

McEwen Copper Inc. is a private Canadian subsidiary of McEwen Inc. developing the Los Azules copper project in San Juan, Argentina — one of the world's top 10 undeveloped copper deposits targeting 327 million pounds of LME Grade A cathode annually from 2029-2030 using heap leach SX-EW processing and 100% renewable power.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Copper Mining

NAICS

Copper, Nickel, Lead, and Zinc Mining (212230)

SIC

Metal Mining (1000), Primary Smelting & Refining Of Nonferrous Metals (3330)

akta.pro primary industry

Copper Ore Mining (Open-Pit & Underground) (IMAKADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Copper Hydrometallurgy (Leaching, SX/EW) (IMAKADAD), Copper Anode/Cathode Production & Handling (IMAKADAG), Copper Exploration & Resource Development (IMAKADAA)

Keywords

• Copper mining
• Copper exploration
• Mineral resources
• Copper cathode production
• Mining development

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Copper Cathode Sales: Once operational (targeting 2029-2030), Los Azules will produce and sell copper cathode. The project targets annual production of 180,000-200,000 tonnes of copper cathode over a 27+ year mine life, with peak annual revenue potential of $3.2-3.6 billion at $4.00/lb copper prices.
2. Gold and Silver By-products: The Los Azules deposit contains gold and silver by-products including 26.6 million oz silver and 1 million oz gold in Measured & Indicated resources.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

McEwen Copper is a copper-focused development company whose primary asset is the Los Azules project in San Juan Province, Argentina. The project will use heap leach processing with solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) to produce LME Grade A copper cathodes on site, with average annual production of 327 million pounds (148,200 tonnes) targeted over a 21+ year mine life. The company also holds the Elder Creek copper exploration project in Nevada.

Product overview

McEwen Copper Inc. operates as a copper-focused development company, wholly-owned through its parent McEwen Inc. (46.3% ownership). The company's sole primary product is the Los Azules copper project, a greenfield copper development in Argentina utilizing heap leach processing technology to produce copper cathodes directly on site. The development strategy emphasizes environmental sustainability through reduced water consumption (74% less than conventional milling), lower carbon intensity (72% lower than industry average), and 100% renewable power sourcing. No tailings facilities are required due to the heap leach approach. The project is positioned among the world's largest undeveloped copper resources with proven and probable reserves of 10.2 billion pounds of copper.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Los Azules: Large-scale advanced-stage copper development project located in San Juan Province, Argentina, representing one of the world's largest undeveloped copper deposits.

Products and services

• Los Azules Copper Project Large-scale advanced-stage copper development project in San Juan Province, Argentina, employing open-pit mining with heap leach processing and solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) to produce LME Grade A copper cathodes directly on site. Designed for average annual production of 327 million pounds (148,200 tonnes) of copper cathode over a 21+ year base-case mine life, targeting industrial off-takers in the EV, data center, and clean energy sectors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 72% lower carbon intensity (mine-to-metal) than industry average
• +3 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and key.

• Nuton LLC (Rio Tinto venture)coreTechnology or IntegrationRio Tinto's Nuton LLC holds 17.2% equity stake in McEwen Copper. Nuton is evaluating its proprietary leaching technology for potential application at Los Azules, which could extend mine life by another 30+ years by enabling economical processing of primary mineralization.
• YPF LuzkeyTechnology or IntegrationYPF Luz provides renewable power supply agreement for Los Azules operations. The project uses 100% renewable energy (wind, hydro, solar) as part of its environmental strategy to achieve 72% lower carbon intensity than industry average.
• International Finance Corporation (IFC)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFC collaboration agreement for alignment with environmental and social performance standards. World Bank committed US$12 billion to Argentina including US$5.5 billion from IFC specifically for critical minerals development.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Filo Corp: Filo Corp is a copper-gold developer advancing the Filo del Sol project on the Argentina-Chile border, a fellow South American large-scale copper developer in similar development stage. Both target the same electrification-driven copper demand and operate under comparable regional permitting regimes.
• Taseko Mines: Taseko Mines is developing Florence Copper in Arizona using in-situ SX-EW technology, making it a direct technology and product peer to McEwen Copper's heap leach SX-EW approach at Los Azules. Both produce LME-grade copper cathode directly on site.
• Solaris Resources: Solaris Resources is advancing the Warintza copper project in Ecuador, a large-scale copper developer with a similar development-stage profile and tier-1 resource characteristics. Comparable in scale, jurisdiction risk profile, and electrification-driven copper thesis.
• Western Copper and Gold: Western Copper and Gold is developing the Casino copper-gold project in Yukon, Canada. Like McEwen Copper, it is a development-stage copper-focused company with a large resource base targeting the same structural copper deficit driven by electrification.

Broad incumbents

• Glencore: Glencore is one of the world's largest diversified miners with major copper operations globally. Comparable end-market exposure (automotive, electrification) and serves as a key reference for institutional offtake structures and copper trading benchmarks relevant to McEwen Copper's offtake model.
• Freeport-McMoRan: Freeport-McMoRan is the world's largest publicly traded copper producer, operating Grasberg in Indonesia and major North/South American assets. Sets the global benchmark for large-scale copper mining economics relevant to Los Azules at full production.
• First Quantum Minerals: First Quantum Minerals is a major global copper producer with large-scale operations including Cobre Panamá. As one of the world's largest copper developers and producers, it represents a comparable scale benchmark for McEwen Copper's future operating profile.
• Capstone Copper: Capstone Copper is a mid-tier copper producer with operations across the Americas. Comparable to McEwen Copper's geographic focus and copper-only product orientation, providing a reference point for development-to-production transition economics.
• Lundin Mining: Lundin Mining is a diversified base metals producer with significant copper operations including Caserones in Chile. As a producing incumbent with similar copper exposure, it provides a benchmark for McEwen Copper's future operating economics and capital markets reception.
• Hudbay Minerals: Hudbay Minerals is a copper-focused producer with operations in the Americas, including Copper Mountain in Canada and Constancia in Peru. Comparable copper-focused strategy and tier-1 jurisdictional exposure make it a relevant benchmark.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/McEwenCopper
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php?id=100081284754778
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mcewencopper
• Instagraminstagram.com/mcewencopper

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about McEwen Copper