Episode Details

Interview with Shawn Howarth, President & CEO of Excellon Resources

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/excellon-resources-exn-focus-is-silver-with-gold-optionality-795

Recording date: 25th September 2026

Excellon Resources Inc. (TSXV:EXN) has rebuilt itself around a single near-term producing asset. After exiting its Mexican silver operations in 2022-2023, the company acquired the Mallay silver-lead-zinc mine in central Peru from Buenaventura, closing the deal in 2025. Mallay was built in 2012 and run as a narrow-vein, high-grade underground mine until 2018, when it became non-core to its previous owner.

The attraction was infrastructure and permits. Mallay came with state grid power, a 600 tpd ball mill that needed upgrades rather than replacement, and a full permit package. Excellon has raised about $30 million across three financings, which funded reopening the underground, the mill restart and drilling. The concentrator restarted in July 2026 on a pre-commissioning basis. Stockpiled ore was processed in batches at 400 and 600 tpd, and the first concentrate has been sold to Glencore under a commercial offtake agreement.

The February 2026 NI 43-101 resource contains 12.0 Moz silver equivalent (AgEq) Indicated at 420 g/t AgEq and 4.0 Moz AgEq Inferred at 344 g/t AgEq. CEO Shawn Howarth argues this understates the system, because Buenaventura drilled only two to three years ahead of mining. The resource extends only about 300 metres below the lowest workings. Excellon's first batch of 2026 underground drilling, released in September, returned 3.4 metres at 495 g/t AgEq and supports grade continuity at depth.

The ramp-up hinges on deeper access. Current mill feed comes mostly from narrow remnant stopes. The 400 Ramp has been dewatered, and its rehabilitation, expected later this year, will open about 60 metres of vertical access below the 4090 Level. There Excellon is targeting 3 to 5 metre ore shoot widths, which would support mechanised mining by a contractor sized to the new plan. Howarth expects consistent throughput of 400 to 600 tpd by early-to-mid 2027, equivalent to around 2 Moz AgEq a year at full rate. An updated resource estimate and mine schedule are targeted for year-end or the first quarter of 2027.

Silver accounts for about 40% of revenue at current prices, with lead and zinc making up the balance. Howarth expects the mine to be economic at a 200 g/ silver head grade at current silver and zinc prices. The company carries no debt, held about US$10 million in cash at the end of July and has an undrawn US$5 million facility with Glencore.

Upside sits beyond the restart. Deep DHEM drilling is testing for the intrusive source of Mallay's veins, which Howarth links to much larger operations on the same formation at Uchucchacua and Iscaycruz. He stresses that this remains a long-term thesis. The Tres Cerros gold-silver project has seven targets, with first drilling anticipated in H1 2027 subject to permits. The Silver City project in Germany is being spun out, with completion expected by year-end, and a partnership is being considered for Kilgore in Idaho.

The key risks are execution, historic data in the resource, a modest balance sheet and metal prices. The next two quarters should show whether Mallay can deliver steady throughput from deeper stopes.

View Excellon Resources' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/excellon-resources-inc

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