What attracted McEwen Mining to look at Saudi Arabia?

From a geological standpoint, Saudi Arabia is a very prospective mining district, possessing a diverse and abundant array of minerals. It is located between two major geological structures, as evidenced by the Arabian Gulf on the north and the Red Sea on the south. The Kingdom has a long history of mining dating back thousands of years. Gold was being mined around the Red Sea during the pharaohs, and evidence of extensive copper mining existed in the Arabia Shield. Despite this history, the mineral wealth of the country has not been aggressively explored, because over the past 50 years its government’s priority was focused on oil and gas.

However, today, the aim of Vision 2030 is to maximize the value of the Kingdom’s rich natural resources by making mining the third pillar of its economy. To achieve this, it has launched bold initiatives and incentives to attract mining expertise from around the world. Its actions are unique, refreshing, and inspiring. Saudi’s big embrace of mining is something that is not happening anywhere else in the world, except China. Governments in North America and Europe appear only grudgingly tolerate mining, and they certainly do not have their arms wide open to warmly welcome and embrace exploration and mining companies as is occurring in Saudi Arabia today.

In summary, the attractions of Saudi Arabia are numerous, a largely unexplored and prospective mineral panorama, a deep and extensive mineral inventory of the country, mineral licenses are available through a well-organized auction process, inexpensive energy, a welcoming government that wishes to move exploration and mine permitting quickly, low tax rates, financial incentives in a land with enormous capital pools, a well-educated and young population along with the traditional Arabian hospitality. All these factors make it very compelling to come here. Is there good geological information available for early explorers?

There have been several large country-wide geological surveys, one was completed about 40 years ago by the Canadian geological consulting firm, Watts Griffis and McOuat. Its CEO Jack McOuat encouraged me take a close look at the Kingdom, back then when I was the Chairman and CEO of Goldcorp. I sent a small team of geologists to Saudi Arabia, but that did not go anywhere, because at that time the country was not particularly interested in mining, and there was little infrastructure to support exploration.

That has changed dramatically over the last four years: now if one wants to establish a business, the government has made the process very straight forward. You now can own 100% or you can enter a joint venture with a local family or firm, tax rates are low, there is capital available, and local businesses are actively looking to form joint ventures with talented mining teams. Saudi Arabia has cut out the bureaucracy to create their emerging mining industry. How do you intend to participate in Saudi Arabia’s mining industry?

Our interests are copper and precious metals. At this moment, our challenge is allocating the appropriate management time and the financial resources without adversely impacting the growth of our precious metals mining operations and our large Los Azules copper development project. Without a doubt, Saudi Arabia is a compelling area for exploration. We are looking forward to forming a joint venture with a Saudi partner and participating in the next auction. Gold hit record highs last year. What is your expectation for the gold price?

I believe the gold price will climb much higher than its current price of $2,700/oz to over $5,000/oz, over the next 3-4 years. The factors that will drive the price higher are historic drivers, the massive issuance of fiat currencies, excessive and unsustainable growth of personal, corporate and government debt levels, increasing geopolitical tensions and increasing central bank buying of gold. What is the role of Saudi Arabia in promoting the new mining production the world population needs?

I find the Kingdom’s strong commitment towards mining very refreshing, enlightened and disruptive. It is a first mover wake up call to the G7 countries. Saudi’s ruler want to be far ahead of the competition to build new mines that will satisfy not only his country’s future needs for minerals but also be in a position to contribute in a significant way to reduce the projected shortage of minerals needed to facilitate the energy transition. And at the same time, diversify the country’s economic base and create a vibrant new industry that offers innovative, long term, high paying jobs. Would you like to add a final message about your recent experience in the Future Minerals Forum?

It was my first time attending FMF and it far exceeded my expectations. I was impressed by its size, scope and especially the enthusiasm and excitement about the future of mining for Saudi Arabia. It was a stark contrast to the atmosphere of the conferences that I attended last year, elsewhere in the world, where the mood was somber and cautious about the availability of capital and there was concern about extended permitting delays and government interventions. Also, I was most impressed by the spectacular growth in attendance of FMF, going from a standing start four years ago to over 26,000 attendees in 2025.

Outside the halls of the FMF, I observed an enormous difference between the economic activity here and in my home country, Canada. Everywhere I looked there were signs of a strong economy. Construction cranes are a common sight as are beautiful new buildings. In addition, I saw a city where respect to the rule of law and private property was clearly evident. There was little to no litter along the streets, few examples of graffiti defacing buildings and infrastructure, no evidence or discussion of local crime and homelessness did not appear to exist. Sadly, all of the above is becoming the norm in Canada. In addition, our politicians are overlooking an enormous opportunity to lift the standard of living of Canadians by following Saudi Arabia’s initiative and aggressively promote and encourage the renewed development of extractive industries. These industries were the foundation of Canada’s economic growth and can still be with the right government in power. The Kingdom is providing an example Canada should embrace.