Mr. Mike England of Golden Lake reports

MCEWEN INC. TO ACQUIRE GOLDEN LAKE EXPLORATION INC.

Golden Lake Exploration Inc. and McEwen Inc. entered into a definitive agreement on Jan. 28, 2026, in respect of a proposed transaction, whereby McEwen would acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Golden Lake by way of a plan of arrangement. If the proposed transaction is completed, Golden Lake would become a wholly owned subsidiary of McEwen.

Golden Lake's principal asset is its 100-per-cent-owned Jewel Ridge and Jewel Ridge West projects located adjacent to McEwen's Windfall and Lookout Mountain discoveries, part of the Gold Bar mine complex, in the Eureka mining district of Nevada. Historical drill highlights from Jewel Ridge project include 2.20 grams per tonne gold over 28.96 metres, 1.24 g/t gold over 56.39 metres and 2.37 g/t gold over 67.57 metres. These holes are located north of McEwen's Windfall deposit, where a recent drill hole returned 5.55 g/t gold over 44.2 metres. Incorporating Golden Lake's projects into the Gold Bar mine complex will help continue the mine's transformation into a long-life operation by investing in exploration and leveraging the current McEwen infrastructure.

The proposed transaction

Pursuant to the terms of the proposed transaction, each Golden Lake common share would entitle its holder to receive 0.003876 McEwen common share as is equal to 12 cents divided by the volume-weighted average trading price of the McEwen shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange for the 20 consecutive trading days ending on and including the trading day of Jan. 26, 2026. The exchange ratio represents an implied offer price of 12 cents per Golden Lake share, being a premium of 60 per cent to the 20-day volume-weighted average price of the Golden Lake shares as at market close on Jan. 26, 2026. Following completion of the transaction, existing Golden Lake shareholders will own approximately 0.5 per cent of the combined company resulting from the proposed transaction.

Benefits of the transaction for Golden Lake shareholders:

• Ability to integrate Jewel Ridge and Jewel Ridge West into the Gold Bar mine complex, leveraging McEwen's ability to finance exploration and utilize existing infrastructure;
• Access to McEwen's Nevada technical team with a record in gold exploration, open-pit mining, heap leaching, permitting and mine development;
• Exposure to McEwen's diversified portfolio of commodities, producing operations, development projects and royalties; and
• An attractive premium of approximately 60 per cent to the 20-day VWAP of the Golden Lake shares and the enhanced liquidity of McEwen shares from dual listing on U.S. and Canada stock exchanges.

Benefits of the transaction for McEwen shareholders:

• Adds an adjacent property to McEwen's Gold Bar mine complex, with promising drill results;
• Continued execution on the Gold Bar mine complex plan to develop a long-life operation with increasing production.

Details of the proposed transaction:

• The proposed transaction is expected to be completed by way of a court-approved plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia). Under the plan of arrangement: (i) all outstanding warrants of Golden Lake will be cashlessly exercised and cancelled in exchange for Golden Lake shares having a value equal to their in-the-money amount; and (ii) all outstanding Golden Lake convertible notes will be converted into Golden Lake shares based on principal and accrued interest in accordance with their terms. All issued and outstanding Golden Lake shares (other than those held by McEwen or dissenting shareholders but including the Golden Lake shares issued to warrantholders and noteholders) will be exchanged for McEwen shares on the basis of the exchange ratio. Outstanding stock options of Golden Lake will be exchanged for replacement options of McEwen on an equivalent economic basis, with adjusted exercise prices.
• To be effective, the proposed transaction will require the approval of 66-2/3rds per cent of the votes cast by shareholders, warrantholders and noteholders of Golden Lake at a special meeting of Golden Lake shareholders, warrantholders and noteholders expected to take place in March.
• The agreement includes provisions such as conditions to closing the proposed transaction, and representations, warranties and covenants customary for arrangement agreements. The agreement also includes: (i) customary deal protection and non-solicitation provisions in favour of McEwen, including a break fee of approximately $250,000 payable to McEwen in certain circumstances; and (ii) provisions allowing Golden Lake to consider and accept superior proposals, in compliance with its fiduciary duties.
• Completion of the proposed transaction will be subject to customary closing conditions and receipt of necessary court and regulatory approvals, including approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

A copy of the agreement will be filed on McEwen's and Golden Lake's SEDAR+ profiles. The proposed transaction was approved by the board of directors of both McEwen and Golden Lake. No fairness opinion was obtained in connection with the proposed transaction. Further details with respect to the proposed transaction are included in the agreement and in an information circular to be mailed to Golden Lake shareholders in connection with the Golden Lake meeting. Once available, a copy of the agreement will be filed on each of McEwen's and Golden Lake's SEDAR+ profiles, and a copy of the information circular will be filed on Golden Lake's SEDAR+ profile.

About McEwen Inc.

McEwen shares trade on both the NYSE and TSX under the ticker MUX.

McEwen provides its shareholders with exposure to a growing base of gold and silver production in addition to a very large copper development project, all in the Americas. The gold and silver mines are in prolific mineral-rich regions of the world: the Cortez trend in Nevada, United States, the Timmins district of Ontario, Flin Flon in Manitoba and the Deseado massif in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. McEwen is also reactivating its gold-silver El Gallo mine in Mexico.

About Golden Lake Exploration Inc.

Golden Lake Exploration is a junior public mining exploration company engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets.

Qualified person

Technical information pertaining to the Gold Bar complex exploration contained in this press release has been prepared under the supervision of Robert Kastelic, MSc, CPG, exploration manager for McEwen in Nevada, and Luke Willis, PGeo, director of resource modelling for McEwen, who are qualified persons as defined by SEC S-K 1300 and Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects). Technical information disclosed in this news release pertaining to the historic Jewel Ridge drilling was reviewed and approved by Don Hoy, PGeo, who serves as a qualified person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 for Golden Lake.

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