International Tower Hill Mines Announces Pre-Feasibility Study Results on 13.6 Million Ounce Gold Resource Reaffirms Project’s Excellent Leverage To Rising Gold Prices Increased 13.6 Million Ounce Resource Solidifies Standing As Largest
Suite 2710 – 200 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC
Canada V6C 1S4
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Fax: 604.408.7499
www.ithmines.com
NR21-06 November 4, 2021
International Tower Hill Mines Announces
Pre-Feasibility Study Results on 13.6 Million Ounce Gold Resource
Reaffirms Project’s Excellent Leverage To Rising Gold Prices
Increased 13.6 Million Ounce Resource Solidifies Standing As Largest
Independent Gold-Only Resource in North America
Annual Average Production of 306,200 Ounces per Year Over 21 Year Mine Life
Significantly De-Risks Project and Forms Solid Foundation To Advance Project Forward
Vancouver, British Columbia, November 4, 2021 – I n t e rnational Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (“ITH” or the
“Company”) (TSX: ITH; NYSE-MKT: THM) today announced the result s of the Pre-Feasibility Study (the
“PFS”) for its Livengood Gold Project (the “Project”) located near Fairbanks, Alaska. The PFS details a project
that would process 65,000 tons per day and produce 6.4 million ounces of gold over 21 years from a gold
resource estimated at 13.6 million ounces at 0.60 g/tonne. The PFS utilized a third-party review by Whittle
Consulting and BBA Inc. to integrate new interpretations based on an expanded geological database, improved
geological modelling, new resource estimation methodology, an optimized mine plan and production schedule,
additional detailed metallurgical work at various gold grades a nd grind sizes, changes in the target grind for
the mill, new engineering estimates, and updated cost inputs, all of which significantly de-risk the Project. The
PFS has estimated the capital costs of the Project (“CAPEX”) at US$1.93 billion, the total cost per ton milled
(“OPEX”) at US$13.12, the all-in sustaining costs (“AISC”) at US$1,171 per ounce, and an after-tax NPV(5%)
of US$400 million at $1,800/oz, US$975 million at US$2,000/oz, and US$2.3 billion at $US2,500/oz.
“This PFS confirms that the Livengood Gold Project is the one o f the largest, highly leveraged gold projects
in North America. This study is the culmination of years of wor k and greatly enhances our understanding of
the deposit. We have now thoroughly evaluated, optimized, and d e-risked all major elements of the Project
and have an excellent foundation on which to build shareholder value. International Tower Hill’s estimated
13.6 million ounces, together with our favorable jurisdiction a nd proximity to infrastructure, offers our
investors great leverage to the gold price.” said Karl Hanneman, CEO.
The Company invites you to attend a conference call and webcast hosted by CEO Karl Hanneman to discuss
the Company and this news release.
Conference Call & Webcast Details:
Date: Novembe r 5, 2021 at 12:00 pm ET
Webcast: https://services.choruscall.com/links/thm211105.html
North American callers: 1-877-270-2148
International callers: 1-412-902-6510
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. - 2 - November 4, 2021
NR21-06 Continued
Pre-Feasibility Study Overview
The Project configuration evaluated in the PFS is a conventional, owner-operated surface mine that will utilize
large-scale mining equipment in a blast/load/haul operation. Mill feed would be processed in a 65,000 tons per
day comminution circuit consisting of primary and secondary crushing, wet grinding in a single semi-autogenous
(SAG) mill and single ball mill followed by a gravity gold circuit and a conventional carbon in leach (CIL) circuit.
Whittle Enterprise Optimization
Prior to beginning the PFS, the Company retained Whittle Engineering and BBA Engineering to collaborate on
an enterprise optimization study (the “Whittle and BBA Study”) to review various technologies and project
configurations and to recommend the optimum configuration for the PFS. The Whittle and BBA Study reviewed
secondary crushing with SAG and ball mill, tertiary crushing with ball mill, gravity/CIL at P80 of 90 micron to
250 micron, stand-alone and auxiliary heap leach configurations, gravity only gold recovery, gravity/flotation
with pressure oxidation and CIL of flotation concentrate. These configurations were evaluated at various
combinations of project ramp up strategy, annual throughput, primary, secondary, and tertiary grind size, as well
as mining fleet size and stockpile management strategies. Tailings technologies reviewed included conventional
tailings and pressure filtered tailings.
The Whittle and BBA Study determined that the gravity/CIL plant at P80 250 micron with conventional tailings
provided the highest NPV, which is the configuration detailed in the PFS.
Pre-Feasibility Study Summary
The PFS was prepared by independent third-party consultants and provides information on the optimized Project
with higher throughput, an updated resource estimate, and capital and operating cost estimates as compared to
the project evaluated in the National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-
101”) April 2017 Technical Report (the “2017 Report”). The fina l version of the NI 43-101 technical report
containing the PFS will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days. As a result of the changes to the Project as evaluated
in the PFS, including differences in the mineral resource estimation methodology and changes to the economic
parameters applied to the geologic block model (gold price, recovery, CAPEX, and OPEX), all of which resulted
in a change in the mineral resources, the Project as evaluated in the 2017 Report is no longer considered current
and the 2017 Report should therefore not be relied upon by investors.
The Company cautions that the PFS is preliminary in nature, and is based on technical and economic assumptions
which would be further refined and evaluated in a full feasibility study. The PFS is based on an updated Project
mineral resource estimate effective as of August 20, 2021 using a different mineral resource model than what
was used in the 2017 Report.
The following is a summary of the material aspects and assumptions of the PFS. Investors are urged to review
the complete NI 43-101 report following its filing on SEDAR for complete details of the PFS.
The engineering design to estimate capital costs used in the PFS are within a -20%/+25% accuracy.
Project Location
The Project is connected by an exi sting paved highway to the ci ty of Fairbanks, 70 miles to the southwest in
central Alaska. The Project is located in an active mining district that has been mined for gold since 1914. The
State of Alaska land use plan designates mining as the primary surface land use for the area in which the Project
is located. Employees would be bussed daily to the site from Fairbanks.
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. - 3 - November 4, 2021
NR21-06 Continued
Infrastructure
The Project would include a line d tailings management facility, an administration o ffice/shop/warehouse
complex, and would also include construction of a 50-mile 230kV electrical transmission line to the mine site
from the existing grid power near Fairbanks, Alaska.
Environmental and Community Relations
Twelve continuous years of baseline environmental work continue s to indicate that all aspects of the Project
can be successfully and safely managed. The design of the tailings facility incorporates best practices including
a lined rock fill structure with a lined tailings basin. The Project development team has considerable experience
working with Alaska’s large mine permitting process and has a proven and respected track record of developing
mining projects safely and in an environmentally sound manner. The Project has already and will continue to
provide local economic opportunities with local access to a hig hly skilled and available work force. The
Company is also working to seek early input on the Project and to explore ways to maximize economic benefits
to the local communities.
Summary of Results of the 65,000 Tons Per Day PFS
OPERATING METRICS 2021 PFS
Mill Throughput 65,000 tons/day
Head Grade – Year 1-5(1) 0.79 g/tonne
Head Grade – LOM(1) 0.65 g/tonne
Gold Recovery – LOM 71.4 %
Mine Life 21 years
Total Ounces Produced 6,430,178 Troy ounces
Average Annual Production – Year 1-5 388,600 Troy ounces
Average Annual Production – LOM 306,200 Troy ounces
Total Ore Processed 474 Million tons
Total Waste(2) 547 Million tons
Annual Mining Rate 52 Million tons
Waste Rock to Mill Ore (ton) Ratio – LOM during production 0.98:1 Waste to Ore
Waste Rock to Mill Ore (ton) Ratio – LOM 1.15:1 Waste to Ore
Low Grade Stockpile – Total Placed/Maximum Size 105/88 Million tons
(1) Diluted grade
(2) Includes 84 million tons pre-production
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. - 4 - November 4, 2021
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FINANCIAL METRICS 2021 PFS US$
CAPEX – Initial 1.93 $Billion
CAPEX – Sustaining 658 $Million
Reclamation & Closure 322 $Million
OPEX – Mining 2.05 $/ton mined
OPEX – Processing 7.72 $/ton ore
OPEX – General &Administrative (G&A) 1.35 $/ton ore
OPEX - Operating Cost – Year 1-5 887 $/Ounce
OPEX - Operating Cost – LOM 1,068 $/Ounce
All-In Sustaining Cost of Production – Year 1-5 1,038 $/Ounce
All-In Sustaining Cost of Production – LOM 1,171 $/Ounce
Gold Price Sensitivity Analysis
The following table shows the average annual free cash flow and EBIDTA generated by the Project at various
gold prices.
(US$M) FREE CASH FLOW EBIDTA
Gold Price
($/Oz)
Average Annual
(Year 1-5)
Average Annual
(LOM)
Average Annual
(Year 1-5)
Average Annual
(LOM)
$1,500 $159 $108 $229 $142
$1,680 (PFS
Base Case $225 $154 $296 $197
$1,800 $269 $184 $342 $234
$2,000 $332 $232 $417 $295
$2,500 $482 $349 $605 $449
The following table shows the after-tax economics at various gold prices.
Gold Price ($/Oz) AFTER TAX
NPV 0% ($M)
AFTER TAX
NPV 5% ($M) IRR (%) Payback (Years)
$1,500 $202 ($512) 1.00% 16.2
$1,680 (PFS Base
Case) $1,137 $45 5.30% 10.4
$1,800 $1,741 $400 7.70% 8.2
$2,000 $2,729 $975 11.20% 6.3
$2,500 $5,102 $2,351 18.50% 3.9
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. - 5 - November 4, 2021
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Capital Costs
Key capital expenditures for initial and sustaining capital requirements are identified in the following table.
US$ Million
Description Initial Sustaining
Process Facilities $433
Infrastructure Facilities 459 $514
Power Supply 87
Mine Equipment 200 139
Mine Development 230
Owners Costs 296 5
Contingency 220
Total $1,925 $658
Rounding of some figures may lead to minor discrepancies in totals.
All-in Sustaining Costs
The table below highlights the all-in sustaining costs and the all-in cost over the life of the Project:
Year 1-5 LOM
US$/Ounce US$ Million US$/Ounce US$ Million
Operating Costs $887 $1,724 $1,068 $6,870
Sustaining Capital Expenditures 151 292 102 658
All-In Sustaining Costs(1) $1,038 $2,016 $1,171 $7,529
Capital Expenditures (2) (3) 0 0 299 1,925
Funding of Reclamation Trust Fund (4) 30 58 42 268
All-In Costs(1) $1,068 $2,075 $1,512 $9,722
Rounding of some figures may lead to minor discrepancies in totals.
(1) All-In Sustaining Costs and All-In-Costs are non-IFRS
measures. See reference to “Non-IFRS Measures” below.
(2) Includes initial capital expenditures only.
(3) Excludes US$40 million of recoverable initial stores
inventory.
(4) Total US$322 million estimated costs.
Annual Gold Production
The chart below highlights the anticipated production schedule. Total life-of-mine production is anticipated to be
6,430,178 ounces. Mill feed will consist of reclaimed ore from the low-grade stockpile during Years 18 through
21.
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. - 6 - November 4, 2021
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Year Mill Feed Grade (g/tonne) Ounces Produced (000)
1 0.76 321
2 0.69 388
3 0.93 482
4 0.93 437
5 0.61 314
6 0.61 328
7 0.64 340
8 0.64 329
9 0.69 357
10 0.58 306
11 0.61 296
12 0.72 336
13 0.77 339
14 0.77 322
15 0.71 308
16 0.73 316
17 0.65 293
18 0.36 188
19 0.36 188
20 0.36 188
21 0.37 54
LOM 0.65 6,430
Rounding of some figures may lead to minor discrepancies in totals.
Project Mineral Reserves
The table below presents the Mineral Reserve estimate for the Project (effective as of October 22, 2021). These
Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves formed the basis of the ec onomic evaluation of the Project and are
based on a gold price of US$1,680 per ounce. The economic assum ptions and parameters used for the
calculation of reserves are the same as those used for the PFS financial model. Note that tonnages presented
are in the metric system.
Livengood Gold Project Mineral Reserve Estimate
(1) Mineral Reserves are reported using the 2014 CIM Definition Standards and are estimated in accordance with 2019 CIM Best
Practices Guidelines.
(2) Mineral Reserves are estimated using a gold price of US$1,680 per ounce, and consider a 3% royalty, 1.80/oz for smelting,
refining, and transportation costs, and a gold payable of 99.9%
(3) Metallurgical recovery curves were developed for each rock type, with the Mineral Reserves having the following tonnage
weighted averages; 83.3%, for Rocktype 4, 79.8% for Rocktype 5, 73.5% for Rocktype 6, 66.4% for Rocktype 7, 58.7% for
Rocktype 8 and 57.1% for Rocktype 9, including 22% for massive stibnite mineralization.
Classification Tonnes (Mt) Au (g/tonne) Contained Au
(000’s)
Proven 411.5 0.64 8,492
Probable 18.5 0.86 512
Total P & P 430.1 0.65 9,004
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. - 7 - November 4, 2021
NR21-06 Continued
(4) As a result of the complex metallurgical recovery equations, it is difficult to determine specific cut-off grades. The following
presents the lowest gold grades for each rocktype that are processed in the life of mine plan; 0.26 g/t for Rocktype 4, 0.28 g/t
for Rocktype 5, 0.31 g/t for Rocktype 6, 0.31 g/t for Rocktype 7 and 0.42 g/t for Rocktype 8 and 0.42 g/t for Rocktype 9.
(5) The strip ratio for the open pit is 1.2 to 1.
(6) The Mineral Reserves are inclusive of mining dilution and ore loss.
(7) The reference point for the Mineral Reserves is the primary crusher.
(8) Totals may not add due to rounding.
(9) The foregoing mineral reserves are based upon and are included within the current mineral resource estimate for the Project.
Project Mineral Resources
The mineral resource estimates set forth in the PFS (“2021 MRE” ) have been prepared by Resource
Development Associates Inc. (“RDA”). Compared to the mineral resource estimates in the 2017 Report, the
2021 MRE included spatial modelli ng of the occurrence of antimo ny throughout the deposit as well as
modelling of the locations of massive stibnite veins within the deposit. These details add valuable contributions
to the reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction of gold for the Project. Gold mineralization has
been interpolated into 10 x 10 x 10-meter blocks using inverse distance cubed (ID3) estimation techniques,
believed to more conservatively support future production sched ules as compared to the 2017 Report, which
was based on Multiple Indicator Kriging of 15 x 15 x 10-meter b locks parceled into 7.5 x 7.5 x 10-meter
selective mining units.
Table 1 Mineral Resource Estimate – Open Pit Constrained – Economic Parameters at Gold Selling Price of
US$1,650 per Troy Ounce. Resources Estimated at Variable Au Cutoff Grades – as described in Table 2
(Qualified Person: Scott Wilson CPG; Effective August 20, 2021)
Classification Tonnes
(Mt) Au (g/t)
Contained
Au
(000’s)
Measured 646.0 0.60 12,482
Indicated 58.5 0.61 1,142
Total M & I 704.5 0.60 13,624
Inferred 16.0 0.40 207
Mineral resources for the Project were determined based upon a combination of 776 reverse circulation and
diamond drillholes comprising 147,658 assays of which 125,450 a ssays measured detectable Au
mineralization. High grade Au outliers were capped prior to compositing. Assays were composited to nominal
ten-meter lengths, yielding 20,806 individual samples which wer e used for the estimation of mineralization.
Mineralization was determined using inverse distance cubed esti mation techniques, adhering to geological
constraints throughout the mineral deposit.
In order to define the quantities of Au with “reasonable prospe cts for economic extraction” by open pit
methods, RDA determined pit cons training limits using the Lerch s-Grossman© economic algorithm which
constructs lists of related bloc ks that should or should not be mined. The final list de fines a surface pit shell
that has the highest possible total value, while honoring the r equired surface mine slope and economic
parameters. Mineral resources were determined at a gold selling price of US$1,650.
The parameters listed in Table 2 define a realistic basis to es timate the mineral resources for the Project and
are based on the extensive scientific, metallurgical and engine ering based analyses that have been completed
by Tower Hill Mines since 2006. Mineral resources for the Project have been limited to mineralized material
that occurs within the pit shells and which could be scheduled to be processed based on the defined cut-off
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. - 8 - November 4, 2021
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grades. All other material within the constraining pit, which w as not classified according to CIM Definition
Standards, was characterized as non-mineralized material.
Table 2 Pit Constraining Parameters
Parameter Unit Rock
Type 4
Rock
Type
5
Rock
Type
6
Rock
Type
7
Rock
Type
8
Rock
Type
9
Mining Cost
Unprocessed
Rock
US$/tonne 1.76 1.74 1.74 1.68 1.76 1.76
Processing
Cost
US$/
process
tonne
9.27 9.15 9.17 9.50 9.71 9.71
G & A US$/process
tonne 1.55 1.55 1.55 1.55 1.55 1.55
Au Recovery Avg % 1 84 80 71 67 55 56
R o y a l t y % 3 3 3 3 3 3
Au Selling
Price US$/oz 1,650 1,650 1,650 1,650 1,650 1,650
Au Cut-Off g/tonne 0.21 0.20 0.25 0.25 0.33 0.33
Overall Slope
Angle Degrees 45 45 45 45 45 45
1 Average % Au Recovery includes massive stibnite at 22% recovery
Grade and Tonnage Sensitivity to Cutoff Grade
Mineral resources at Livengood are sensitive to the selection o f the reporting cutoff grade. To illustrate this
sensitivity, the block model quantities and grade estimates within the constraining pit are presented in Table 3
at linear increases in the cutoff grades for measured, indicate d and inferred mineral resources at Livengood.
The same results are presented graphically in Figure 1. Mineral ization is constrained to the pit using the
parameters in Table 2. The numbers presented in Table 3 should not be misconstrued with a mineral resource
statement. The figures are only presented to show the sensitiv ity of block model estimates to the selection of
a cutoff grade. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Table 3 Sensitivity of Mineral Resources to cutoff used. Effective Date: August 20, 2021.
QP Scott Wilson CPG
Measured Indicated Measured & Indicated Inferred
Cutoff
Au g/t
Tonnes
(000)
Grade
Au
g/t
Au
Oz.
(000)
Tonnes
(000)
Grade
Au
g/t
Au
Oz.
(000)
Tonnes
(000)
Grade
Au
g/t
Au
Oz.
(000)
Tonnes
(000)
Grade
Au
g/t
Au
Oz.
(000)
0.2 816,569 0.53 13,914 73,263 0.53 1,248 889,832 0.53 15,162 20,42 3 0.37 243
0.3 626,843 0.61 12,293 55,069 0.63 1,115 681,912 0.61 13,409 13,35 9 0.43 185
0.4 464,710 0.71 10,608 37,347 0.76 913 502,057 0.71 11,520 6,017 0 .52 101
0.5 332,891 0.81 8,669 25,437 0.91 744 358,328 0.82 9,413 2,142 0.6 5 45
0.6 234,524 0.92 6,937 17,976 1.06 613 252,500 0.93 7,549 1,079 0.7 5 26
0.7 164,938 1.03 5,462 13,645 1.19 522 178,583 1.04 5,984 614 0.84 17
0.8 117,098 1.15 4,329 10,648 1.31 448 127,746 1.16 4,778 335 0.92 10
0.9 83,825 1.26 3,396 8,372 1.44 388 92,197 1.28 3,783 180 0.98 6
1.0 61,474 1.38 2,727 6,479 1.58 329 67,953 1.40 3,057 59 1.04 2
Figure 1 Sensitivity of Mineral Resources to cutoff used. Effective Date: August 20, 2021. QP Scott Wilson CPG