Item 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
In the following discussion, “McEwen Mining,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” and “us” refer to McEwen Mining Inc. and, as the context requires, its consolidated subsidiaries.
The discussion also analyzes our results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and compares those to the results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023. Regarding properties or projects that are not in production, we provide some details of our plan of operation. We suggest that you read this discussion in conjunction with MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS and our audited consolidated financial statements contained in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.
The discussion contains financial performance measures that are not prepared in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“US GAAP” or “GAAP”). Each of the following is a non-GAAP measure: cash costs, cash costs per ounce, all-in sustaining costs (“AISC”), all-in sustaining cost per ounce, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA”), and average realized price per ounce. These non-GAAP measures are used by management in running the business and we believe they provide useful information that can be used by investors to evaluate our performance and our ability to generate cash flows. These measures do not have standardized definitions and should not be relied upon in isolation or as a substitute for measures prepared in accordance with GAAP.
For a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the amounts included in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, and 2023 and to our Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2024, and December 31, 2023, and certain limitations inherent in such measures, please see the discussion under “Non-GAAP Financial Performance Measures,” beginning on page 33.
This discussion also includes references to “advanced-stage properties,” which are defined as properties for which advanced studies and reports have been completed indicating the presence of measured, indicated, and inferred resources or proven and probable reserves, or that have obtained or are in the process of obtaining the required permitting. Our designation of certain properties as “advanced-stage properties” should not suggest that we have or ever will have proven or probable reserves at those properties as defined by S-K 1300.
Throughout this Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MDA”), the reporting periods for the three months ended September 30, 2024, and 2023 are abbreviated as Q3/24 and Q3/23, respectively, and the reporting periods for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, and 2023 are abbreviated as 9M/24 and 9M/23, respectively.
Disclosed gold equivalent ounces (“GEO”) includes gold and silver ounces calculated based on a gold to silver ratio of 85:1 for Q3/24 and 82:1 for Q3/23, and 85:1 for 9M/24 and 83:1 for 9M/23, which is based on the average per ounce price of gold and silver during each period.
OVERVIEW
The Company was organized under the laws of the State of Colorado on July 24, 1979, and is engaged in the production and sale of gold and silver, as well as the development and exploration of copper, gold, and silver mineral properties across North and South America.
The Company owns a 100% interest in the Gold Bar mine in Nevada, United States, the Fox Complex in Ontario, Canada, the Fenix Project in Sinaloa, Mexico and a portfolio of exploration properties in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Argentina. As of September 30, 2024, the Company also holds a 48.3% interest in McEwen Copper Inc. (“McEwen Copper”), which owns the Los Azules copper project in San Juan, Argentina and the Elder Creek exploration project in Nevada, United States, and a 49.0% interest in Minera Santa Cruz S.A. (“MSC”), which owns the producing San José silver-gold mine in Santa Cruz, Argentina and is operated by MSC’s majority owner, Hochschild Mining plc. The Company reports its investments in McEwen Copper and MSC using the equity method of accounting.