Rob McEwen says newly minted McEwen Copper will provide shareholders with exceptional copper price leverage

With the copper price trending in record territory after nearly doubling over the past 12 months, mining veteran and industry luminary Rob McEwen tells The Northern Miner the time had finally come to unlock the inherent value of its large-scale, advanced Los Azules copper project in Argentina.

McEwen Mining (NYSE, TSX: MUX) announced this week it would spin out the Los Azules copper project in San Juan, Argentina, and the Elder Creek exploration property in Nevada into newly created McEwen Copper, subject to a 1.25% net smelter return royalty on both assets payable to McEwen Mining.

McEwen Copper will, in turn, raise US$80 million through a private placement and become a public company within 12 months of its closing.