Toronto, Ontario — September 3, 2026 — Leads & Copy — Mining Americas Inc. (TSX: MAI) (OTCQX: MAIFF) has received approval from the Mexican Federal Environmental Department (SEMARNAT) for key permits required for the development of its Cerro de Oro open pit, heap leach gold mine. The project, located in northern Zacatecas State, Mexico, has been granted approval for its land use change (ETJ-CUS) and environmental impact assessment (MIA).
With these critical permits in hand, Mining Americas plans to begin advancing the Cerro de Oro project toward a construction decision. This includes progressing ancillary permits, licenses, and approvals necessary for construction and operation. The company will also evaluate detailed engineering and mine designs in light of the current elevated gold price environment. Furthermore, a drill program is planned to generate material for metallurgical optimization studies and to test the deposit’s depth extents below the current resource depth of approximately 130 meters.
Darren Blasutti, CEO of Mining Americas, stated that receiving these permit approvals is a significant milestone, representing the culmination of extensive work by Mexican permitting authorities, the company’s team, and its permitting advisors. He noted that the approvals provide a clear path for a substantial increase in the company’s gold production in the medium term.
Blasutti added that the Cerro de Oro project was previously demonstrated to be a robust open pit, heap leach gold project based on a 2023 preliminary economic assessment (PEA) at a gold price of US$1,600 per ounce. The company is now eager to re-evaluate the project’s potential size and economics considering significantly higher gold prices.
The approval of the Cerro de Oro permits means Mining Americas now has key permits in place for all its major growth projects. This includes the construction-stage Copperstone underground gold project in Arizona and the Gold Rock open pit heap leach project, which is adjacent to the producing Pan mine. The company intends to continue advancing construction at Copperstone, make a construction decision for Gold Rock later this year, and progress Cerro de Oro toward a potential construction decision in 2027.
Mining Americas acquired the Cerro de Oro project in September 2020. Following subsequent drill programs and study work, an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) and the results of the 2023 PEA were announced in late 2022. The company finalized the necessary documentation for the project’s permitting process in April 2023.
The MRE, which utilized a gold price of US$1,700 per ounce, estimated a pit-constrained, Inferred resource of 67 million tonnes grading 0.37 grams per tonne, totaling 790,000 ounces of gold. The 2023 PEA, based on the MRE, envisioned a conventional open pit, heap leach operation with an initial mine life of 8.2 years, a strip ratio of 0.3:1, total gold production of 477,000 ounces, and average annual production of approximately 58,000 ounces. Initial capital costs were estimated at US$28 million.
Additionally, Mining Americas announced that the technical report for the Copperstone project, following a pre-feasibility study, has been filed on sedar plus and is available on the company’s website. Minor differences exist in the technical report compared to the May 27, 2026 news release due to variations in financial model assumptions regarding cost capitalization, timing of contractor and owner-operator costs, and mobilization/demobilization expenses.
The scientific and technical information in this release was reviewed and approved by Darren Koningen, P.Eng., President & COO of Mining Americas, who is the Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.
Mining Americas Inc. is a North American gold production and development company with projects in Nevada, Arizona, and Mexico. Its assets include the Pan Operating Complex in White Pine County, Nevada, comprising the Pan mine and the Gold Rock project. The company also owns the Copperstone project in La Paz County, Arizona, an underground gold project under construction, and holds a portfolio of Mexican assets, including the Cerro de Oro project. The company’s strategy is to become a leading U.S.-focused intermediate gold producer.
Source: Mining Americas Inc.
