i-80 Gold Provides Comprehensive Operations Update Steady progress made at all sites to advance development and growth plans
i-80 Gold Provides Comprehensive Operations
Update
Steady progress made at all sites to advance development and growth plans
RENO, Nev.
,
July 11, 2023
/CNW/ -
i-80 GOLD CORP.
(TSX: IAU) (NYSE: IAUX)
("i-80", or the "Company")
is
pleased to announce that significant progress has been realized in the Company's advanced-exploration,
development and production initiatives at its Granite Creek, McCoy-Cove, Ruby Hill, and Lone Tree Properties.
Granite Creek –
The Company is advancing underground development, surface and underground drilling,
increasing mining rates, and progressing updated resource work for economic studies.
McCoy-Cove –
The Phase 1 underground development program is nearing completion, and the underground
drill program is realizing substantial success.
Ruby Hill
– Gold is being produced from the residual leaching program while drilling continues to define and
expand mineralization in multiple zones. A Preliminary Economic Assessment is near completion while
metallurgical work and associated permitting is being advanced for underground development and processing
planning. The Company also received approval to drill test the Hilltop Corridor.
Lone Tree -
Gold production continues from the residual leach program and detailed engineering is being
completed for the restart of the autoclave facility.
"We have realized numerous successes in the first half of 2023 in what is expected to be a catalyst-rich year with
exploration, development, and mining underway at our three primary projects.", stated
Ewan Downie
, CEO of i-
80. "As a company, and where possible, we intend to implement "proof of concept" mining to ensure that proper
mining methods are employed, and continuity of mineralization is established, prior to full mine development. By
completing more detailed initial work, we aim to have a more fluid transition from explorer to miner than often seen
in new start-ups."
Granite Creek Property
The Company continues to advance a decline to provide multiple levels to access the Ogee Zone. Better ground
conditions encountered, as the development has deepened, have allowed for successful mining and reconciliation
to the Granite Creek resource estimate and related Preliminary Economic Assessment has been positive (see
Tables 1 & 2). Four levels have now been completed and mining rates continue to ramp up. A fifth level is now
under development which will be extended to the northeast to provide initial access to the South Pacific Zone. A
dedicated drill bay has been completed on the 4
th
level and surface drilling has resumed to allow the Company to
better define the South Pacific Zone in advance of its development.
Prior to declaring a production decision, initial mining is being performed on several of the primary zones to
establish continuity and mineability. Practical Mining LLC, an independent mining consultant, has been engaged to
assist in constructing a revised resource model and economic mine plan. As part of this exercise, reconciliation
work is being completed to compare actual mined ounces versus resource estimates and related Preliminary
Economic Assessment. This will then be used to complete an updated resource estimate and Feasibility Study.
"The team at Granite Creek continues to realize significant progress in both development and mining rates.",
stated
Matt Gili
, President and Chief Operating Officer of i-80. "Our focus has shifted to the Ogee Zone with
positive grade reconciliation, increased mining rates and increasing production. We are accelerating infrastructure
development to access the high-grade South Pacific Zone as we progress towards full commercial production."
Table 1 Granite Creek Ogee Zone 4445 Level (based on Company stockpile sampling)
Tonnage
Au Grade
Gold
(tonnes)
(g/t)
(oz)
Actual Mined
10,612
14.0
4,768
Table 2 Granite Creek Ogee Zone 4490 Level (based on Company stockpile sampling)
Tonnage
Au Grade
Gold
(tonnes)
(g/t)
(oz)
Actual Mined
10,874
11.1
3,870
Mining in the Ogee Zone continues to encounter a significant amount of oxide mineralization and an ore sale
agreement for this material has been negotiated with a third-party. High-grade refractory mineralization is being
trucked to
Nevada Gold Mines'
"Sage Plant" at its Turquoise Ridge/Twin Creeks Mine located to the north (See
Figure 1) in accordance with the Company's existing toll milling agreement.
Figure 1 – Granite Creek Property Location (CNW Group/i-80 Gold Corp)
Installation of a sixth dewatering well is nearing completion which is expected to lower the water level and
contribute to accelerated development and mining rates. Prior to completing a Feasibility Study for the
underground mineralization at Granite Creek, additional surface and underground drilling is being completed to
better define mineralization in the South Pacific Zone for mine planning and inclusion in the economic model.
McCoy-Cove Property
Construction of the Phase I underground decline and exploration drift is expected to be completed in
July 2023
.
The underground definition drill campaign, expected to comprise of approximately 40,000 metres, is underway
with extremely positive initial results. Drilling has demonstrated strong continuity of mineralization with consistent
high-grade gold mineralization. Highlight results from the first eleven holes of the underground drill program
include:
10.3 g/t Au over
7.8 m
(iCHU23-02)
13.0 g/t Au over
6.0 m
(iCHU23-03)
12.9 g/t Au over
36.1 m
(iCHU23-04)
12.8 g/t Au over
14.2 m
& 13.8 g/t Au over
7.6 m
(iCHU23-05)
24.1 g/t Au over
14.0 m
(iCHU23-07)
44.2 g/t Au over
2.1 m
& 11.4 g/t Au over
7.9 m
(iCHU23-08)
9.6 g/
t Au over
22.8 m
(iCHU23-09)
14.9 g/t Au over
32.7 m
(iCHU23-10)
15.7 g/t Au over
22.5 m
(iCHU23-11)
18.9 g/t Au over
29.3 m
(iCHU23-11)
This program will be completed in advance of detailed mine designs for a Feasibility Study and the future
development of the Cove underground mine. Installation of piezometers to advance detailed water flow studies
was also completed in the first half of the year and support full mine permitting and long-term dewatering plans.
Cove represents one of
North America's
highest-grade development-stage gold projects with existing resources
displayed in Table 3.
Table 3 – Cove Deposit Resource
Mineral Resources
1
Tonnage
Au Grade
Ag Grade
Gold
Silver
(kt)
(g/t)
(g/t)
(koz)
(koz)
Indicated
1,007
10.9
29.1
351
943
Inferred
3,867
10.9
20.6
1,353
2,565
1.
Mineral Resources were calculated at a gold price of US$1500/oz, cut-off grade 0.141 opt Au, and is based on the Preliminary Economic Assessment issued by i- 80 on April 13, 2021 with an
effective date of January 1, 2021.
"The success we have realized early in our definition drill program at Cove is confirming best-in-class grades and
the potential for it to become one of the highest-grade gold mines in
the United States
.", stated
Tyler Hill
, Chief
Geologist of i-80. "Grades and widths are reconciling very well against the model and we are expecting to provide
regular updates on results from this large-scale program."
Ruby Hill Property
Five main initiatives are planned at Ruby Hill for 2023 including a residual leach program, a large-scale exploration
drilling program, initial economic work for the planned Ruby Deeps underground gold mine to be developed at
Ruby Hill, permitting to allow for the commencement of underground development and advanced metallurgical
work for the recoveries of gold and polymetallic base metal mineralization for mining and processing planning.
Following the acquisition of the nearby FAD deposit through the completion of the Company's acquisition of
Paycore Minerals Inc., a major multi-drill program is underway focused on expanding mineralization and also
testing several new exploration targets on the property including the Hilltop Corridor. New discoveries have been
made in the early part of the Ruby Hill drilling program with
Carlin
(gold) and CRD (polymetallic) mineralization
intersected in several new target areas located in close proximity to the underground infrastructure being planned
for the Property.
Drilling in the Upper Hilltop Zone continues to expand mineralization with substantial expansion potential being
identified in the East Hilltop and Lower Hilltop areas (see Figures 2 & 3). Additionally, recent drilling has
intersected zones of high-grade mineralization in infill drilling at the Blackjack Zone and the FAD deposit.
Multiple zones of high-grade Carbonate Replacement Deposit-type mineralization (CRD) have been identified
along the Hilltop fault structure (see Figures 2 & 3) including
515.3 g/t Ag, 28.9 % Pb, 10.5 % Zn & 0.9 g/t Au
over
28.3 m
,
1.9 g/t Au, 631.3 g/t Ag, 7.4 % Zn & 33.0 % Pb over
18.3 m
and
60.2 g/t Au, 908.7 g/t Ag, 1.1 %
Zn & 15.7 % Pb over
10.0 m
in the Upper Hilltop Zone and
226.1 g/t Ag, 9.7 % Zn & 10.0 % Pb over
8.4 m
in
the East Hilltop target area.
Figure 2 – Hilltop Fault Structure Drilling (CNW Group/i-80 Gold Corp)
Early in the 2023 drill program, hole iRH23-09 intersected a large zone of
Carlin
-type alteration grading
7.3 g/t Au
over
10.2 m
approximately 200 metres south of known mineralization in the Ruby Deeps deposit in addition to
polymetallic mineralization approximately 250 metres west of the Lower Hilltop Zone that assayed
3.5 g/t Au and
6.7 % Zn over
18.3 m
. Additional drilling is testing this area (
See Figures
2 and 3).
Figure 3 – Section Along Hilltop Structure (CNW Group/i-80 Gold Corp)
Final deposit modeling and mine planning are being completed in advance of the release of a Preliminary
Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Ruby Deeps gold deposit. Permit submissions have been made for
approvals to commence underground development (portal and decline) from the Archimedes pit. This underground
development will provide improved access for definition drilling of the multiple gold, polymetallic and base metal
deposits, test mining and advanced economic studies prior to a production decision.
Detailed metallurgical test work is being completed for both gold and polymetallic base metal mineralization at
Ruby Hill. This work will be utilized in economic plans for processing both types of mineralization from the Ruby Hill
Mine and advancing plans for the construction of a floatation plant on the Property.
Lone Tree Property
Detailed engineering for the retrofit of the Lone Tree autoclave facility is underway. Once complete, and the
Company has sufficiently advanced mine development at Granite Creek, Ruby Hill and Cove, a comprehensive
study will be completed. In the interim, sulphide (refractory) gold mineralization will be processed at NGM facilities
pursuant to processing agreements that were previously negotiated.
Please
click here
for further information on abbreviations and conversions referenced in this press release.
QAQC Procedures
All samples were submitted to either American Assay Laboratories (AAL) or ALS Minerals (ALS) both of
Sparks,
NV
, which are ISO 9001 and 17025 certified and accredited laboratories, independent of the Company. Samples
submitted through AAL and ALS are run through standard prep methods and analysed using Au-AA23 (ALS) or
FA-PB30-ICP (AAL) (Au; 30g fire assay for both) and ME-ICP61a (35 element suite; 0.4g 4 acid/ICP-AES) for
ALS and IO-4AB32 (35 element suite; 0.5g 4-acid ICP-OES+MS) for AAL. Both AAL and ALS also undertake
their own internal coarse and pulp duplicate analysis to ensure proper sample preparation and equipment
calibration. i-80 Gold Corp's QA/QC program includes regular insertion of CRM standards, duplicates, and blanks
into the sample stream with a stringent review of all results.
Qualified Person
Tyler Hill
, CPG-12146, Chief Geologist at i-80 is the Qualified Person for the information contained in this press
release and is a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101.
About i-80 Gold Corp.
i-80 Gold Corp.
is a Nevada-focused, mining company with a goal of achieving mid-tier gold producer status
through the development of multiple deposits within the Company's advanced-stage property portfolio with
processing at i-80's centralized milling facilities. i-80 Gold's common shares are listed on the TSX and the NYSE
American under the trading symbol IAU:TSX and IAUX:NYSE. Further information about i-80 Gold's portfolio of
assets and long-term growth strategy is available at
www.i80gold.com
or by email at
.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward looking statements" or "forward looking information"
within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including but not limited to, commencement of mining operations
at the Granite Creek project, the Ruby Hill mine, the McCoy-Cove project and the Lone Tree project;
reconciliation of actual mining results to resource estimates and economic studies; mineral resource and reserve
estimates and exploration and development potential; completion of updated resource estimates and feasibility
studies; refractory processing capabilities and production targets. Such statements and information involve known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or
achievements of the company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking statements or information Such
statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect",
"believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "and other similar terminology, or state that
certain actions, events or results " may", "could", " would", "or " be taken, occur or be achieved These statements
reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of
the date of this presentation. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-
looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by
applicable law.
Forward looking statements and information involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as
guarantees of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indicators of whether or not such
results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results
discussed in the forward looking statements or information, including, but not limited to failure to satisfy of the
relevant conditions to the completion of the transactions described herein, failure to obtain the relevant regulatory
approvals, material adverse changes, exercise of termination rights by any relevant party, unexpected changes in
laws, , rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities the failure of parties to contracts with
the Company to perform as agreed social or labour unrest changes in commodity prices and the failure of
exploration, refurbishment, development or mining programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that
would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or operations. Readers of this presentation
are encouraged to read the "Risk Factors" as more fully described in the Company's filings with the Canadian
Securities Administrators and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Information Form
for the year ended
December 31, 2022
, available on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com
and on the SEC's website at
www.sec.gov
.
Cautionary Note to U S Investors Concerning Estimates of Resources
This presentation uses the term "inferred resources." "Inferred resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as
to their existence, and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility Under Canadian rules, estimates
of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of a feasibility study or prefeasibility study, except in rare
cases Information contained in the presentation containing descriptions of any mineral deposits may not be
comparable to similar information made public by U S companies subject to the reporting and disclosure
requirements under
the United States
federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder that
disclose mineral reserves and mineral resources the SEC's new mining disclosure rules in Regulation S-K Subpart
1300 ("S-K 1300"). Under S-K 1300 reserve and resource definitions are substantially similar to the corresponding
CIM Definition Standards however, there are differences between NI 43-101 and S-K 1300 and therefore
information contained in the presentation may not be comparable to similar information made public by public U S
companies pursuant to the Regulation S-K 1300.
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For further information:
please contact: Ewan Downie - CEO, Matt Gili - President & COO, Matthew Gollat -
Executive Vice-President, 1.866.525.6450, [email protected], www.i80gold.com
CO: i-80 Gold Corp
CNW 06:00e 11-JUL-23