McEwen Mining hit by $ 8.5M heist

Toronto- based McEwen Mining Inc. is reeling from an armed robbery at its El Gallo operation in Mexico, where the thieves made off with about $ 8.5- million US worth of gold- bearing concentrate containing about 7,000 ounces of the precious metal. McEwen said its insurance policies will not be enough to cover the losses. McEwen said no one was injured and mining operations were not affected, but did not provide any more details about the robbery which it said is under investigation by Mexican authorities. McEwen said the theft occurred Tuesday and involved 900 kilograms of gold- bearing concentrate, which requires further processing until it becomes gold metal. McEwen also mines in Nevada and Argentina.