McEwen Mining Inc (MUX)

[JD400]

Looking for a merger or acquisition as a step toward its goal of inclusion in the Standard & Poor's 500 index by 2015, its chief executive said on Thursday.

"We think our growth will take us a good part of the way, but we'll have to look to an M&A transaction to get the critical mass," CEO and majority shareholder Rob McEwen told the Reuters Global Mining and Metals Summit in New York.

Asked how such a deal might be financed, he said it would likely be through equity rather than debt.