Rob McEwen: Gold prices are going up in September MUX, TNR.v, GLD

  Rob McEwen is bullish on Gold and his call about the bottom in the gold market has proven to be right so far. Silver action is particularly important for McEwen Mining now as it provides the very high leverage to its operations. 

 Suddenly after all doom and gloom this story is looking very promising again and Shorts has to run to cover. Los Azules copper project can change it  overnight for McEwen Mining and TNR Gold. 

  Copper was building the base with the news from China about better economic data and high premiums in the copper supply chain due to the delivery delays. Positive news from Argentina will bring upcoming new PEA on Los Azules to the headlines again this Fall.

Rob McEwen - Argentina may lift mining currency restrictions MUX, TNR.v

  "As we have suggested before, Shorts were screaming for cover with McEwen Mining on Monday and the days after this week. We have some more positive developments in Rob McEwen camp. Surging silver has lifted the MUX share price and news from Argentina are building the base for Los Azules Copper to be the catalyst for this fall to be unfolded for McEwen Mining and TNR Gold."

McEwen Mining Conference Call.

Rick Rule On Gold & Resources: "The Stage Is Set For An Absolutely Dramatic Recovery" TNR.v, MUX

McEwen Mining Q2 Operational Results, Record Production at Lower Costs MUX, TNR.v

"Mr Gold Corp delivers what is valued the most in the time of desperation: solid leadership and management of his assets. Resources have been increased, production is growing and the costs are going lower. McEwen Mining will collect 9 million in Q4 - a very nice bonus to its cash position from Mexico Tax Refund: shorts will be uneasy on Monday during the conference call.
  Mr Market will drive our story - McEwen Mining is highly leveraged to Silver, Gold and Copper prices, but we have one of the best managing owners available on the market here. With his own money on the line and what is even more important for Rob: his name - you can be sure that if anything can be done for the benefit of the shareholders it will happen.

  We are not just cheer leading here, as usual, but talking about the one of the most important asset in this kind of market: Rob has been there, has done it already. His younger team brings a lot of energy and his guidance and name opens the doors. 

  Nobody knows when Mr Market will suddenly remember that Gold and Silver prices are suppressed at the historical level of open market manipulation or that Dr Copper must be flying to the new highs supporting the theory about all that "Economic Growth" disturbing the FED, but you must survive to that point and only after that you can enjoy the ride. If you can preserve your main assets and pick up new ones during the downturn, your patience will be rewarded handsomely.

  For our story here with TNR Gold Los Azules development is the most important one, we still think that it will be the ace from Rob's sleeve to bring the catalyst to all the story of McEwen Mining and, particularly, TNR Gold. Now we have another important milestone in the making of this world class asset:

"Los Azules Copper Project, Argentina (100%)

Los Azules is one of the world's largest and highest grade undeveloped copper porphyry deposits. McEwen Mining is working on an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), which is expected to be completed in Q3 this year. The updated PEA will be based on a significantly larger mineral resource. It will evaluate the possibility of (1) increasing the daily throughput; (2) producing copper cathode instead of a concentrate and (3) processing low-grade mineralized material not previously considered, via a heap leach. The advantage of being able to produce a copper cathode is that it would eliminate the contemplated slurry pipeline through Chile and would reduce Argentina's current export tax on concentrate."

McEwen Mining Announces Updated El Gallo 2 Resource Estimate MUX, TNR.v

Rick Rule On Gold & Resources: "The Stage Is Set For An Absolutely Dramatic Recovery" TNR.v, MUX

"To make this dramatic and pleasant for Survivors picture come true we need just one thing - Pros with the money coming into the market, without them it will always be only the wishful thinking. We can see them coming now."

  Bull Market Thinking:

Rob McEwen: “I See No Reason To Reduce One’s Exposure—But More To Increase One’s Exposure In Gold”

August 13, 2013 | By Tekoa Da Silva

I had the opportunity yesterday to join McEwen Mining‘s Q2 2013 conference call, led by the founder and former CEO of GoldCorp, Rob McEwen. He is now the CEO, Chairman, and Chief Owner of McEwen Mining.

It was an interesting call as usual, with informative commentary on the mining environment in Argentina, and of particular interest—Rob’s updated perspective on gold and gold mining equities.

Speaking towards a presidential cycle he sees occurring in the gold mining equities, Rob said,  ”I continue to believe something called the ‘White House Effect’ will continue to play out this year, and [what] that is, is since 1984, there’s been eight presidential elections, and in each of those years the value of gold shares has declined. In the year that followed…gold shares as measured by the XAU index…have increased anywhere from 10% to 80% in the year that followed the election.“

The implication of the “White House Effect” at present according to Rob, is that, “There’s a reasonably good chance that by the end of the year, you’re going to see gold share prices higher than they were at the beginning of the year. So you can see a nice recovery in that space.”

As that recovery occurs, “You’re [also] going to see consolidation taking place…[as] people want to have a little more size in the marketplace. And we’ve been looking in that area as well,” Rob added.

Sharing a comment on gold, Rob said, “My view remains quite positive…The primary drivers for gold are still there and increasing, and I see no reason to reduce one’s exposure, but more to increase one’s exposure in gold…In the short term, the summer is usually a cyclical low, and you get recoveries in September.”  

As a final comment to end the conference call, Rob said, “Gold prices are going up in September…so you might want to take a look at some of these juniors and intermediates.” 

—

This was another interesting call with one of the great mine developers of our time. It is recommended listening for precious metals investors and those looking to add to their education in the mining equity space.

To listen to Rob McEwen’s Q2 2013 comments, visit: McEwenMining.com

—
Enjoy the commentary? Please support the site by sharing this URL page link with friends, family, and your favorite chat forum.

Thanks,
Tekoa Da Silva
Bull Market Thinking"

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Silver & Gold - Hidden Secrets Of Money - Seven Stages Of Empire

What Is Our Money And Why China Plans To Move To A Gold Backed Yuan Currency.

"We have more and more news coming out about the tectonic shift in geopolitical landscape and ongoing Currency Wars. China learns very fast, even if Maestro Greenspan has already forgotten the ancient wisdom. Further education will help to understand our flawed monetary system and the value of gold for the investors even if Bernanke, who is busy destroying the US Dollar with the FED "does not have any clue about it."

Adam Hamilton: Silver Short Squeeze MUX, TNR.v

"We continue to follow Adam Hamilton and pleased to share his thoughts on the Silver market. On the chart above you can see a very impressive setting for the Silver Short Squeeze to unfold should his observations materialise in the market place. One of our top picks McEwen Mining is highly leveraged to Silver prices."

Currency Markets: The Next Crisis Has Begun

 "We would like to share with you today very interesting observations from the currency markets by Toby Connor. Recent volatility in the currency market was exceptional, particularly, when you consider that equity market was moving almost always in one direction - Up. Equity market volatility is at the record low and it looks like the real action now is in the US Dollar camp. Gold will follow this development fuelled by physical shortage as well."

Adam Hamilton: Silver Short Squeeze MUX, TNR.v

  

 We continue to follow Adam Hamilton and pleased to share his thoughts on the Silver market. On the chart above you can see a very impressive setting for the Silver Short Squeeze to unfold should his observations materialise in the market place. One of our top picks McEwen Mining is highly leveraged to Silver prices.

McEwen Mining Q2 Operational Results, Record Production at Lower Costs MUX, TNR.v

Mr Gold Corp delivers what is valued the most in the time of desperation: solid leadership and management of his assets. Resources have been increased, production is growing and the costs are going lower. Mr Market will drive our story - McEwen Mining is highly leveraged to Silver, Gold and Copper prices, but we have one of the best managing owners available on the market here. With his own money on the line and what is even more important for Rob: his name - you can be sure that if anything can be done for the benefit of the shareholders it will happen.

Adam Hamilton: Gold-Stock Rebirth

 "Adam Hamilton is one of the best technicians we are following here. Technical analysis is not the precise scenes, but it gives a very good framework for the potential timing of the fundamental catalyses in your investment theme."

Kitco:

Silver Short Squeeze

Silver has suffered a miserable year so far, bludgeoned by gold’s unprecedented selling anomaly.  The exceptional weakness in both metals was greatly exacerbated by futures speculators piling on short-side bets.  But with silver shorts hitting record extremes, a super-bullish short squeeze now looms.  Any rapid silver rally is likely to spook the highly-leveraged futures traders, sparking a massive stampede to cover.

Even greater short-squeeze potential exists in gold, as I discussed in an essay several weeks ago.  And gold is the dominating primary driver of silver prices.  Since silver’s secular bull was born nearly a dozen years ago, silver has had a stellar 0.924 correlation r-square with gold.  Over 92% of all silver’s daily price action in that long secular span was statistically explainable by gold’s own!  This is very important today.

Futures speculators’ total short positions in gold recently soared to wildly-outlying record highs.  The only way these radically excessive shorts can be closed is by buying offsetting longs, and the sheer quantities required are gargantuan.  And as the gold price surges on this heavy buying to cover, the silver price will follow it higher.  Gold short covering will likely provide the initial spark to ignite the silver short squeeze.

This silver buying is likely to spread like a wildfire in a bone-dry forest.  Silver’s great volatility and incredible potential to soar has a seductive allure that’s never stamped out.  There are hordes of investors and speculators waiting to buy, ready to pounce on any significant rally.  Even though silver’s price was hammered down 39.0% at worst this year by late June, silver exhibited remarkable relative strength.

Gold plummeted 28.3% over that same span, the victim of levitating stock markets spawning a mass exodus out of the GLD gold ETF and gold-futures forced liquidations.  In normal major gold selloffs, silver often doubles gold’s losses.  So only being down 3/8ths more than gold is impressive.  This was partially due to incredible resiliency in the flagship SLV silver ETF, which stock traders didn’t abandon like GLD.

As of the middle of this week, the heavy differential selling pressure on GLD had bashed its holdings down 32.6% year-to-date!  That is a breathtaking record extreme, and those 440.3 metric tons of gold that its custodians had to sell to keep it tracking the yellow metal were the major cause of gold’s 2013 selling anomaly.  Yet over this same span, SLV’s holdings grew by 3.1%!  Yes you read that right, they rose.

Despite silver being kicked in the teeth this year, stock traders didn’t sell as fast as silver was being sold in the futures market.  So SLV’s custodians added 10.0m ounces of silver to its holdings in one of the white metal’s worst years ever.  This amazing SLV bullish divergence shows major latent investor interest in silver remains.  So traders likely won’t hesitate to flood back in as silver’s short squeeze unfolds.

Like gold, futures speculators’ total positions in silver are detailed every Friday afternoon in the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s famous Commitments of Traders report.  These are current to the preceding Tuesday, so the latest available data as this essay was published was July 30th’s.  And it reveals the greatest potential for a massive short squeeze ever seen in silver’s entire secular bull.

The CoT reports break futures traders down into three separate classes.  They are commercial hedgers, large speculators, and small speculators.  The commercials are businesses that actually consume or produce physical silver, so they use the futures markets simply to lock in future prices.  The speculators don’t deal in physical silver at all, they are purely betting on where silver prices are heading to next.

Every futures contract has a buyer and a seller, a different trader on the long side and short side.  And futures are a zero-sum game.  Every dollar won by one trader is a direct dollar loss for the opposing counterparty.  Thus the total longs and shorts in silver are always perfectly equal.  But across the three classes of traders, net-long and net-short positions arise.  And these are what herald the short squeeze.

This first chart looks at the silver-futures net positions held by large speculators, small speculators, and commercial hedgers over the past 9 years or so.  The weekly silver price as of each Tuesday (the day that the CoT reflects positions) is superimposed.  Silver-futures speculators have waxed extremely bearish in 2013, which is certainly understandable.  But these guys’ collective bets are a strong contrarian indicator.

Back in late June as silver plunged to its nauseating lows, futures speculators’ bearishness peaked.  On the June 25th CoT, large speculators’ net-long positions in silver futures plunged to 0.8k contracts.  This was their lowest level seen in 10.2 years, since April 2003 when silver traded around $4.50.  Just 7 weeks earlier, small specs’ net longs had sunk to 0.8k as well.  This 11.5-year low was the worst of silver’s bull.

Given silver’s horrendous selloff this year, it is easy to understand why futures speculators were so pessimistic on the white metal.  It is human nature to feel the worst about the prospects for any priceafter an exceptional decline.  It is a natural tendency that all speculators must fight and eventually master if they’re going to prove successful.  Futures speculators’ net longs hit major lows after long silver selloffs.

But the fascinating thing is futures speculators are always wrong at these major lows.  Silver is bottoming right as they’re paring back their long-side bets and ramping up their short-side bets on it.  Pick any major net-long low among silver speculators in this metal’s entire secular bull, and silver surged or soared soon after.  I’ve highlighted major episodes of spec net-long lows above in blue, they are very bullish events.

Despite their reputation as sophisticated traders, futures speculators as a group are not contrarianswho’ve conquered their greed and fear.  They are the most bearish at the worst possible time, right when silver is bottoming.  And if major lows in spec net longs are very bullish historically, how much more so are the bull-record-low net-long positions seen recently?  Silver is on the verge of a monster new upleg.

There is only one way out of net-long lows, buying silver futures.  After these events where sentiment gets excessively pessimistic, there is always a sharp mean reversion back up to normal levels.  And in the post-stock-panic years between 2009 and 2012, the average large- and small-spec net longs in silver futures were 28.1k and 14.2k contracts respectively.  Last Tuesday, they were still very low at 5.0k and 3.3k.

So for futures speculators merely to return to their recent secular averages, 34.1k contracts will have to be bought.  It doesn’t matter one bit whether this is buying to cover shorts or buying to add longs, it has the same effect on the silver price.  Every silver futures contract represents 5000 ounces of silver, so we are talking about 170.4m ounces of futures buying simply to mean revert.  This is a huge amount of silver!

To put it into perspective, realize the mighty SLV silver ETF now holds 334.3m ounces in trust for stock traders.  From SLV’s inception in April 2006, it took 4.5 years of buying to first reach this milestone.  Silver futures speculators need to buy over half this much silver in a matter of months (futures have expiration dates) just to return to normal levels!  170m ounces is over a fifth of 2012’s global production near 770m.

And like all extremes in the markets, exceptionally-low net-long positions among silver futures often overshoot on mean reversions.  The farther into extreme fear the great sentiment pendulum is pulled, the higher the subsequent swing back through its arc carries it into extreme greed.  So I suspect we will almost certainly see speculator net-long positions well above their 2009-to-2012 averages by next spring.

Major lows in silver specs’ net-long positions are very bullish, marking the birth of major new silver uplegs.  And generally the more extreme the low, the more bearish the silver sentiment, the bigger the resulting upleg.  And given futures’ inherent short lifespan, these sentiment swings usually don’t take much more than 6 months to unfold.  Such mean reversions have driven the mightiest uplegs of silver’s bull.

While this net-long contrarian indicator is very valuable, it is illuminating to dig even deeper.  Silver speculators can get to low net-long levels by some combination of reducing their longs and increasing their shorts.  But only the latter is what breeds short squeezes.  While speculators aren’t compelled to add long-side exposure as silver rallies (they want to), they absolutely have to cover their short-side bets.

So the greater the proportion of high short positions relative to low long positions that fuel a particular net-long low, the more bullish it is.  This next chart breaks down the total longs and shorts held by large and small futures speculators together over the same 9ish-year timespan.  And with total speculator silver shorts recently hitting a major new bull-record high, the latest net-long lows are explosively bullish for silver.

Back in late June as silver plunged towards $18.50, the total shorts held by futures speculators soared to 49.8k contracts!  This is an astounding number, easily silver’s secular-bull record.  Our CoT data extends back to January 1999, well into the end of silver’s last secular bear.  And over that entire 14.5-year span, the total short-side bets by futures speculators have never even approached these utterly incredible levels.

Since each contract controls 5000 ounces of silver, American futures speculators alone were short 249.2m ounces!  That is nearly a third of the silver produced by all the world’s mines last year.  And all this silver has to be repurchased.  Shorting of course means selling something you don’t own.  So futures speculators effectively borrowed to sell a quarter-billion ounces of silver that absolutely has to be repaid.

The only way for speculators to unwind futures short positions is by buying other contracts to offset their earlier sales.  To go short they sell futures contracts, then to close these trades they buy them back.  And this buying drives up silver’s futures price exactly like new long-side buying.  So the massive shorts in silver futures guarantee proportional massive buying in the coming months to cover and close these bets.

There is no other possible outcome.  By definition, futures speculators can’t produce silver to repay the silver they borrowed to sell short.  If they had silver mines, they would instead be classified as commercial hedgers.  So they have to buy in the futures market.  And defaulting on this silver debt is not an option.  The American futures markets have a long history of ensuring every last contract is honored and settled.

Futures trading, due to its high inherent leverage, is tightly regulated by both the brokerages themselves and the government.  In order to trade silver futures, all speculators have to deposit cash margin in their accounts.  Every minute of every trading day, the brokerages’ computers monitor this to ensure it is sufficient to close traders’ positions if necessary.  The brokerages are on the hook if traders can’t pay!

Today every 5000-ounce COMEX silver-futures contract requires maintenance margins of $11,250.  But at this week’s $19.50 silver, one contract controls $97,500 worth of silver.  This means silver futures traders can run leverage up to 8.7x.  While most don’t run at minimum margin, many get close since that high inherent leverage is what makes futures so attractive.  If they bet right, their gains are gigantic.

But at 8.7x leverage, a mere 11.5% rally in silver wipes out 100% of the capital risked by short-selling futures speculators.  And silver is an exceptionally volatile metal, so big up days are fairly common when it is enjoying major uplegs.  Thus silver speculators who’ve sold contracts feel great pressure to buy to cover when silver starts rallying.  Each day they delay can result in large fractions of their capital vanishing.

This short covering feeding on itself is what ignites short squeezes.  There is always some small fraction of futures speculators running maximum leverage.  These weak hands are forced to cover, often by margin calls, soon after silver starts surging.  And their forced buying accelerates silver’s climb, forcing an even larger group of speculators to cover.  They buy, silver goes higher, and a vicious circle forms.

This past week, total futures-speculator silver shorts were still 46.2k contracts.  To merely mean revert back down to the post-stock-panic average of 21.5k between 2009 and 2012, they will have to buy 24.7k contracts.  This is 123.7m ounces of silver, the equivalent of 3/8ths of SLV’s entire holdings today!  And the faster silver rallies, the quicker this buying to cover will unfold.  Case in point, take a look at 2005.

Back in August 2005, total spec silver shorts soared to 45.2k contracts.  Even though silver only traded near $6.75 then, speculators were extremely bearish on the white metal.  These periodic episodes of exceptional pessimism often coincide with silver’s summer seasonal lows.  Total longs were relatively low then too.  And high spec shorts plus low spec longs is very bullish, the breeding ground for major uplegs.

And silver indeed soon soared in one of its spectacular parabolic uplegs.  From that previous bull-record spec-short high, silver rocketed 124.0% higher over the next 8 months!  Much of the first half of that monster upleg was driven by futures-speculator short covering.  As silver kept forging new highs in the subsequent months, many other buyers flooded in to ride the momentum.  But short covering birthed that upleg.

It wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see a similar massive silver upleg between now and this upcoming May.  Record speculator shorts require record futures buying to cover.  And as the incredible resiliency of SLV’s holdings in this miserable year demonstrates, there are plenty of other investors and speculators lurking and eager to buy any convincing rally.  A 125% upleg from late June’s low would catapult silver near $42 by May!

While shorts have to buy futures to cover, spec longs also mean revert higher out of lows in silver uplegs.  Silver’s extreme volatility has always been a speculators’ dream, so they are raring to buy new long-side contracts as silver surges.  So at the same time silver shorts mean revert lower, the silver longs are going to climb back up to at least their 2009-to-2012 average of 63.9k contracts.  That is another 9.3k of buying.

Add that 46.6m ounces of futures buying on the long side on top of the 123.7m of short covering, and silver has 170.3m ounces of almost-certain near-term demand coming from futures alone.  This of course matches the projection from the CoT net-long analysis above.  Again this is over a fifth of total annual worldwide mining production, all marginal new demand on top of all the normal and usual demand.

And that is due to pick up dramatically in the coming months.  Gold and therefore silver have always had strong seasonal tendencies to see large investment-demand spikes emerge in autumn.  Asian demand for gold is always big, and unlike dumb Americans these smart investors love buying low.  Given gold’s brutal plunge this year, Asian investment demand in the upcoming strong season should be enormous.

And provocatively silver should see a much larger proportion of these capital inflows than usual.  The goofy government of India has been waging a long war against gold.  Indians import vast quantities of it every year, which contributes to that country’s trade deficit.  So the Indian government keeps trying to magically eradicate a many-centuries-old cultural affinity for gold through ever-escalating import duties on it.

But excessive taxation doesn’t quell demand, it just forces it underground so these taxes are evaded.  So gold smuggling is naturally soaring in India.  But a fascinating side effect is there are more and more anecdotal reports of surging Indian demand for silver as an alternative.  Any significant new Asian silver buying on top of global futures buying, ETF investment, and physical buying will act like rocket fuel.

So silver is poised for a monster upleg in the coming months, initially fueled by a massive short squeeze in the American futures market.  If you aren’t yet sufficiently invested in silver and silver stocks, you still have a small window to buy near 2013’s exceptional lows.  Silver stocks in particular have plummeted to levels radically lower than even $20 silver justifies.  Their upside potential in this new silver upleg is vast.

The bottom line is speculators’ short positions in silver futures recently soared to record highs.  This group of traders has a long history of hitting peak bearishness when silver hits deep lows just as major new uplegs are being born.  Their bets are a powerful contrarian indicator.  And the only way they can exit their gargantuan silver short position is by buying a proportionally massive amount of silver futures.

This guaranteed buying will drive silver higher, putting great pressure on all the short speculators.  They will have to buy to cover, forcing silver higher and igniting a vicious circle.  A mere mean reversion of their total short and long positions to post-stock-panic norms would necessitate near-future buying equivalent to over a fifth of total global production!  That is great fodder to fuel an epic short squeeze.

By Adam Hamilton, CPA
Zeal Intelligence
zelotes@zealllc.com"

McEwen Mining Q2 Operational Results, Record Production at Lower Costs MUX, TNR.v

  

  Mr Gold Corp delivers what is valued the most in the time of desperation: solid leadership and management of his assets. Resources have been increased, production is growing and the costs are going lower. McEwen Mining will collect 9 million in Q4 - a very nice bonus to its cash position from Mexico Tax Refund: shorts will be uneasy on Monday during the conference call.
  Mr Market will drive our story - McEwen Mining is highly leveraged to Silver, Gold and Copper prices, but we have one of the best managing owners available on the market here. With his own money on the line and what is even more important for Rob: his name - you can be sure that if anything can be done for the benefit of the shareholders it will happen.

  We are not just cheer leading here, as usual, but talking about the one of the most important asset in this kind of market: Rob has been there, has done it already. His younger team brings a lot of energy and his guidance and name opens the doors. 

  Nobody knows when Mr Market will suddenly remember that Gold and Silver prices are suppressed at the historical level of open market manipulation or that Dr Copper must be flying to the new highs supporting the theory about all that "Economic Growth" disturbing the FED, but you must survive to that point and only after that you can enjoy the ride. If you can preserve your main assets and pick up new ones during the downturn, your patience will be rewarded handsomely.

  For our story here with TNR Gold Los Azules development is the most important one, we still think that it will be the ace from Rob's sleeve to bring the catalyst to all the story of McEwen Mining and, particularly, TNR Gold. Now we have another important milestone in the making of this world class asset:

"Los Azules Copper Project, Argentina (100%)

Los Azules is one of the world's largest and highest grade undeveloped copper porphyry deposits. McEwen Mining is working on an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), which is expected to be completed in Q3 this year. The updated PEA will be based on a significantly larger mineral resource. It will evaluate the possibility of (1) increasing the daily throughput; (2) producing copper cathode instead of a concentrate and (3) processing low-grade mineralized material not previously considered, via a heap leach. The advantage of being able to produce a copper cathode is that it would eliminate the contemplated slurry pipeline through Chile and would reduce Argentina's current export tax on concentrate."

McEwen Mining Announces Updated El Gallo 2 Resource Estimate MUX, TNR.v

Rick Rule On Gold & Resources: "The Stage Is Set For An Absolutely Dramatic Recovery" TNR.v, MUX

"To make this dramatic and pleasant for Survivors picture come true we need just one thing - Pros with the money coming into the market, without them it will always be only the wishful thinking. We can see them coming now."

McEwen Mining Q2 Operational Results, Record Production at Lower Costs

08/09/2013

Download this Press Release (PDF 1.36 MB)

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug. 9, 2013) -

(All Amounts in US Dollars Unless Otherwise Stated)

McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE:MUX)(TSX:MUX) is pleased to provide a summary of the Company's Q2 operating results. During the quarter the Company delivered record production at lower costs.

Q2 Summary Highlights

• Gold equivalent production increased to 35,955 ounces (20,988 gold ounces and 778,308 silver ounces). This is approximately 44% higher than Q2 2012 and 20% higher than Q1 2013.

• On target to produce 130,000 gold equivalent* ounces in 2013.

• Total cash costs and all-in sustaining costs were $744 and $1,108 per gold equivalent ounce. Total cash costs were 9% lower than Q2 2012 and 22% lower than Q1 2013. All-in sustaining costs were 33% lower than Q1 2013.

• El Gallo 1 and 2 Measured and Indicated gold equivalent resources increased by 34% to 2.1 million ounces (48.2 million tonnes at 1.37 gpt AuEvq).

• At June 30, 2013 Financials: $39.3 million in liquid assets and no debt.

• The Company recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $123.6 million related to the decline in metal prices and an associated tax being proposed in Argentina.

* Gold equivalent calculated by converting silver into gold using a 52:1 exchange ratio. This ratio was established on January 30, 2013 and was used to budget the company's 2013 gold equivalent production. The silver/gold ratio does not take into account metallurgical recoveries.

"Our two mines performed well in Q2. Production was up and costs were down. We are expecting similar performance during the second half of the year and remain on target to reach our 2013 production goals. All of our permits for El Gallo 2 have been submitted (for the mill scenario outlined in the El Gallo 2 section below) and we expect approval by the end of 2013. In addition, our exploration in Mexico continues to grow the size of the resource with a 34% increase in the Measured and Indicated categories at El Gallo 1 and 2," stated Rob McEwen , Chief Owner.

Balance Sheet

At June 30, 2013, McEwen Mining had cash and liquid assets of $39.3 million, comprised of cash totaling $34.8 million with gold and silver bullion valued at $4.5 million. The Company remains debt free. In addition, McEwen Mining is owed $9.0 million from the Mexican government in the form of a tax refund. It is anticipated that a majority of this amount will be received by Q4.

The Company did not receive any dividends from its 49% owned San José mine in Argentina due to low precious metal prices. The El Gallo 1 mine generated $2.4 million in operating cash flow, after sustaining capital expenses.

The decline in metal prices and potential costs associated with a proposed mineral reserve tax in the Santa Cruz province in Argentina has caused the Company to perform an impairment test on its 49% interest in the San José mine and other mineral property interests in Argentina. As a result the Company recorded an after tax non-cash charge of $123.6 million. Of that amount $95.9 and$27.7 million was related to the carrying value of the San José mine and mineral property interests in Santa Cruz province, Argentina, respectively.

San José Mine, Argentina (49%)

Production results for McEwen Mining's share in San José during Q2 was 12,549 gold ounces and 771,967 silver ounces, representing 27,394 gold equivalent ounces (converting silver into gold using a 52:1 ratio). During the first six months of 2013, San José produced 50,452 gold equivalent ounces. Production during the second half of 2013 is forecasted to be slightly higher than in the first half of 2013. The mine is on track to meet its 2013 production guidance of 102,700 gold equivalent ounces.

Gold equivalent total cash costs equaled $751 per ounce. This is 9% less than Q2 2012 and 29% lower than Q1 2013. Total cash costs were lower for several reasons: 1) it was the first full quarter operating the mill at its expanded rate of 1,650 tonnes per day (versus 1,500 tonnes) and 2) cost savings initiatives being deployed at the mine. Total cash costs for Q2 were inline with full year guidance of between $725 and $825 per gold equivalent ounce.

All-in sustaining costs were lower than Q1 2013 by 35% at $972 per gold equivalent ounce. All-in sustaining costs were lower due to lower total cash costs (outlined above), more ounces sold during the quarter than produced, which reduced the cost on a per ounce basis and is the opposite to what occurred in Q1 (development costs in a quarter are expensed against ounces sold and not produced) and reduced exploration drilling.

San José Mine Production Comparison
San José - 100%*	Q2 2013	Q1 2013	Q2 2012	Total 2013 YTD
Ore production (tonnes)	140,816	108,379	128,803	249,195
Average grade gold (gpt)	6.34	6.87	5.98	6.57
Average head silver (gpt)	407	459	430	430
Average gold recovery (%)	89.3	88.1	88.6	88.7
Average silver recovery (%)	85.5	84.4	84.2	85.0
Gold produced (ounces)	25,610	21,078	21,946	46,688
Silver produced (ounces)	1,575,442	1,350,847	1,499,580	2,926,289
Gold sold (ounces)	31,974	12,817	17,661	44,791
Silver sold (ounces)	1,991,030	889,078	1,146,187	2,880,108
Co-product total cash cost Au (US$)**	878	1,089	887	936
Co-product total cash cost Ag (US$)**	12.40	19.82	14.81	14.73
Gold equivalent total cash cost (US$)**	751	1,055	822	842
Co-product all-in sustaining cash cost Au (US$)***	1,137	1,550	1,341	1,257
Co-product all-in sustaining cash cost Ag (US$)***	16.06	28.21	22.40	19.79
Gold equivalent co-product all-in sustaining cash cost (US$)***	972	1,502	1,243	1,131
McEwen Mining - 49% Share
Gold produced (ounces)	12,549	10,328	10,754	22,877
Silver produced (ounces)	771,967	661,915	735,000	1,433,882
Gold equivalent1 produced (ounces)	27,394	23,057	24,888	50,452

* McEwen Mining holds a 49% attributable interest in the San José mine.

** In the second quarter of 2013, the Company revised its allocation of general and administrative expenses to total cash costs to conform to the Gold Institute Production Cost standard. Prior period figures have been adjusted to conform to the current methodology.

*** In the second quarter of 2013, the Company adopted the new guidance on all-in sustaining and all-in costs published by the World Gold Council on June 27, 2013. Prior period figures have been adjusted to conform to the current methodology.

El Gallo 1 Mine, Mexico (100%)

On January 1^st, 2013, El Gallo 1 declared commercial production. In Q2 the mine produced 8,439 gold ounces and 6,341 silver ounces, representing 8,561 gold equivalent ounces. During the first six months of 2013, El Gallo 1 produced 15,342 gold equivalent ounces. The mine remains on track to produce 27,300 gold equivalent ounces in 2013.

Gold equivalent total cash costs equaled $713 per ounce. Total cash costs were lower than full year guidance of $750-$850 per ounce and 7% lower than Q1 2013.

All-in sustaining costs totaled $1,183 per gold equivalent ounce in Q2, which was 19% lower than Q1. All-in sustaining costs were lower due to lower total cash costs (outlined above) and lower pre-stripping during the quarter.

During Q2 the company continued with its optimization program at El Gallo 1, designed to maximize the mines profitability. Lower prices for cyanide (-30%), explosives (-20%) and exploration drilling (-10%) were successfully negotiated. The full benefit of these lower prices will not be realized until the second half of the year due to existing inventory that was purchased at higher prices. In addition, ore tonnes processed and gold grades improved 18% and 22%, respectively, versus Q1. Waste tonnes were also reduced by 12%.

El Gallo 1 is currently being expanded from 3,000 to 4,500 tonnes per day for a nominal expenditure of $5 million. The increased capacity, combined with higher grades, is expected to expand production from 27,300 gold equivalent ounces in 2013 to 75,000 gold equivalent ounces by 2015. Preliminary engineering drawings have been completed and the expansion is expected to be operational by mid-2014.

El Gallo Phase 1 Mine Production Results
	Q2 2013	Q1 2013
Ore production (tonnes)	346,896	295,173
Average grade gold (gpt)	1.34	1.10
Gold produced (ounces)	8,439	6,673
Silver produced (ounces)	6,341	5,640
Gold equivalent produced (ounces)	8,561	6,781
Gold sold (ounces)	7,897	8,085
Silver sold (ounces)	6,400	7,800
Gold equivalent total cash cost (US$) **	713	770
Gold equivalent co-product all-in sustaining cash cost (US$) ***	1,183	1,465

* Gold recoveries are projected to reach 70% through on-going leaching.

** In the second quarter of 2013, the Company revised its allocation of general and administrative expenses to total cash costs to conform to the Gold Institute Production Cost standard. Prior period figures have been adjusted to conform to the current methodology.

*** In the second quarter of 2013, the Company adopted the new guidance on all-in sustaining and all-in costs published by the World Gold Council on June 27, 2013. Prior period figures have been adjusted to conform to the current methodology.

El Gallo 2, Mexico (100%)

In order to lower capital costs associated with construction, McEwen Mining began follow-up tests to help determine if heap leaching is a viable process alternative for silver at El Gallo 2. Heap leaching would substantially reduce the estimated initial capital to approximately $30 million from$180 million under a milling scenario. Though capital costs would be reduced, it would also decrease production from an estimated 105,000 gold equivalent ounces to approximately 60,000 gold equivalent ounces. Test results are expected during Q4.

The company has continued to advance the construction of the El Gallo 2 ball mill to ensure both process alternatives remain viable without incurring significant costs or delays.

The three remaining permits to begin construction and operations under the mill process have been submitted to the applicable Mexican authorities. Although approval and timing are outside ofMcEwen Mining's control, the Company is targeting between Q3 and year-end for approval. Should the Company decide that the heap leach scenario is the preferred process alternative, modifications to the permits will be required.

Los Azules Copper Project, Argentina (100%)

Los Azules is one of the world's largest and highest grade undeveloped copper porphyry deposits.McEwen Mining is working on an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), which is expected to be completed in Q3 this year. The updated PEA will be based on a significantly larger mineral resource. It will evaluate the possibility of (1) increasing the daily throughput; (2) producing copper cathode instead of a concentrate and (3) processing low-grade mineralized material not previously considered, via a heap leach. The advantage of being able to produce a copper cathode is that it would eliminate the contemplated slurry pipeline through Chile and would reduce Argentina's current export tax on concentrate.

Gold Bar Project, Nevada (100%)

McEwen Mining continues to advance the Gold Bar permitting process in order to begin construction and production. Gold Bar is forecasted to produce 50,000 ounces gold per year. The project is located primarily on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) are the primary government agencies responsible for approving the permits that would allow the Company to begin construction. The Company expects to submit its Plan of Operations report in the second half of 2013.

Q2 Conference Call Details

McEwen Mining will be hosting a conference call to discuss the Q2 results and project developments on August 12, 2013 at 2 pm EST.

WEBCAST: http://www.gowebcasting.com/4784

TELEPHONE:

Participant dial-in number(s):

416-695-6616 / 800-446-4472

REPLAY:

Dial-in number(s): 905-694-9451 / 800-408-3053

Pass code: 2278899

ABOUT MCEWEN MINING ( www.mcewenmining.com )

The goal of McEwen Mining is to qualify for inclusion in the S&P 500 by creating a high growth gold producer focused in the Americas. McEwen Mining's principal assets consist of the San José mine in Santa Cruz, Argentina (49% interest); the El Gallo complex in Sinaloa, Mexico; the Gold Bar project in Nevada, US; the Los Azules project in San Juan, Argentina and a large portfolio of exploration properties in Argentina, Mexico and Nevada.

McEwen Mining has 297,114,359 shares issued and outstanding at August 6, 2013. Rob McEwen, Chairman, President and Chief Owner, owns 25% of the shares of the Company (assuming all outstanding Exchangeable Shares are exchanged for an equivalent amount of Common Shares).

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

This news release has been reviewed and approved by William Faust, PE, McEwen Mining's Chief Operating Officer, who is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101).

El Gallo: for additional information about the El Gallo complex see the technical report titled "El Gallo Complex Phase II project, NI 43-101 Technical Report Feasibility Study, Mocorito Municipality, Sinaloa, Mexico" with an effective date of September 10, 2012, prepared by M3 Engineering along with a team of associates (the "Phase II Report"). The authors of the Phase 2 Report, Stan Timler - M3 Engineering, Mike Hester - Independent Mining Consultants (Reserves),Dawn Garcia - SRK Consulting (Environmental), Richard Kehmeier and Brian Hartman - Pincock Allen & Holt (El Gallo Deposit Resource), John Read - McEwen Mining consultant (Palmarito Insitu, Historic Waste Dumps and Historic tailings Resource), are each qualified persons and all of whom but John Read are independent of McEwen Mining, each as defined by NI 43-101. Los Azules: for information about the current Los Azules Mineral Resource, see the Company's news release titled "McEwen Mining Continues to Expand Los Azules' Large, High-Grade, Mineral Resource, dated February 5, 2013. The mineral resource estimate referenced in this news release was prepared in January 2013 by Robert Sim , P.Geo. and Bruce Davis , PhD, FAusIMM, each a qualified person and independent of McEwen Mining, each as defined by NI 43-101. For additional information about the Los Azules project see the technical Report titled "Los Azules Porphyry Copper Project, San Juan Province, Argentina" dated August 1, 2012, with an effective date of June 15, 2012, prepared by D. Ernest Winkler, PE, Robert Sim , PGeo, Bruce Davis , PHD, FAUSIMM and James K. Duff , PGeo, all of whom are qualified persons and all of whom butJames K. Duff are independent of McEwen Mining, each as defined by NI 43-101. Tonkin Project: For information about the Tonkin project see the technical report titled "Technical Report on Tonkin Project" dated and with an effective date of May 16, 2008. The report was prepared by Alan C. Noble, P.E., Ore Reserves Engineering and Richard Gowans , Micon International, andSteven Brown (then US Gold Corporation) all of whom are qualified persons and all of whom but Mr. Brown are independent of McEwen Mining, each as defined by NI 43-101.Gold Bar: For information about the Gold Bar project see the technical report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on Resources and Reserves Gold Bar Project, Eureka County, Nevada" dated February 24, 2012with an effective date of November 28, 2011, prepared by J. Pennington, C.P.G., MSc., Frank Daviess , MAusIMM, Registered SME, Eric Olin ,, MBA, RM-SME, MSc, Herb Osborn, P.E, Joanna Poeck , MMSA, B. Eng., Kent Hartley P.E . Mining, SME, BSc, Mike Levy, P.E, P.G, MSc., Evan Nikirk , P. E., Mark Allan Willow , M.Sc, C.E.M. and Neal Rigby , CEng, MIMMM, PhD, all of whom are qualified persons and all of whom are independent of McEwen Mining, each as defined by NI 43-101.

The foregoing news release and technical reports are available under the Corporation's profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

There are significant risks and uncertainty associated with commencing production or changing production plans without a feasibility, pre-feasibility or scoping study. The proposed expansion to El Gallo Phase 1 has not and may not be explored, developed or analyzed in sufficient detail to complete an independent feasibility or pre-feasibility study and may ultimately be determined to lack one or more geological, engineering, legal, operating, economic, social, environmental, and other relevant factors reasonably required to serve as the basis for a final decision to complete the expansion of all or part of this project.

RELIABILITY OF INFORMATION REGARDING THE SAN JOSÉ MINE

Minera Santa Cruz S.A., the owner of the San José mine, is responsible for and has supplied to the Company all reported results from the San José mine. McEwen Mining's joint venture partner, a subsidiary of Hochschild Mining plc, and its affiliates other than MSC do not accept responsibility for the use of project data or the adequacy or accuracy of this release. As the Company is not the operator of the San José mine, there can be no assurance that production information reported to the Company by MSC is accurate, the Company has not independently verified such information and readers are therefore cautioned regarding the extent to which they should rely upon such information.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING NON-GAAP MEASURES

In this report, we have provided information prepared or calculated according to U.S. GAAP, as well as provided some non-U.S. GAAP ("non-GAAP") performance measures. Because the non-GAAP performance measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by U.S. GAAP, they may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies.

Total cash costs consist of mining, processing, on-site general and administrative costs, community and permitting costs related to current explorations, royalty costs, refining and treatment charges (for both doré and concentrate products), sales costs, export taxes and operational stripping costs. All-in sustaining cash costs consist of total cash costs (as described above), plus environmental rehabilitation costs, mine site exploration and development costs, and sustaining capital expenditures. In order to arrive at our consolidated all-in sustaining costs, we also include corporate general and administrative expenses. Depreciation is excluded from both total cash costs and all-in sustaining cash costs. Total cash cost and all-in sustaining cash cost per ounce are calculated on a co-product basis by dividing the respective proportionate share of the total cash costs and all-in sustaining cash costs for the period attributable to each metal by the ounces of each respective metal sold. A reconciliation to the nearest U.S. GAAP measure is provided in McEwen Mining's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2013.

CAUTIONARY NOTE TO US INVESTORS REGARDING RESOURCE ESTIMATION

McEwen Mining prepares its resource estimates in accordance with standards of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum referred to in Canadian National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101). These standards are different from the standards generally permitted in reports filed with the SEC. Under NI 43-101, McEwen Mining reports measured, indicated and inferred resources, measurements, which are generally not permitted in filings made with the SEC. The estimation of measured resources and indicated resources involve greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic feasibility than the estimation of proven and probable reserves. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part of measured or indicated resources will ever be converted into economically mineable reserves. The estimation of inferred resources involves far greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic viability than the estimation of other categories of resources.

CAUTION CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and information, including "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements and information expressed, as at the date of this news release, McEwen Mining Inc.'s (the "Company") estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations or beliefs as to future events and results. Forward-looking statements and information are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties, risks and contingencies, and there can be no assurance that such statements and information will prove to be accurate. Therefore, actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements and information. Risks and uncertainties that could cause results or future events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and information include, but are not limited to, factors associated with fluctuations in the market price of precious metals, mining industry risks, political, economic, social and security risks associated with foreign operations, the ability of the corporation to receive or receive in a timely manner permits or other approvals required in connection with operations, risks associated with the construction of mining operations and commencement of production and the projected costs thereof, risks related to litigation, the state of the capital markets, environmental risks and hazards, uncertainty as to calculation of mineral resources and reserves and other risks. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information included herein, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to reissue or update forward-looking statements or information as a result of new information or events after the date hereof except as may be required by law. See McEwen Mining's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, under the caption "Risk Factors", for additional information on risks, uncertainties and other factors relating to the forward-looking statements and information regarding the Company. All forward-looking statements and information made in this news release are qualified by this cautionary statement.

The NYSE and TSX have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the contents of this news release, which has been prepared by management of McEwen Mining Inc.

Contact Information:
McEwen Mining Inc.
Sheena Scotland
Investor Relations
(647) 258-0395 ext 410 or Toll Free: (866) 441-0690
(647) 258-0408 (FAX)

McEwen Mining Inc.
Mailing Address
181 Bay Street Suite 4750
Toronto, ON M5J 2T3
PO box 792
info@mcewenmining.com

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