Published: July 21, 2023 |

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i-80 Gold Corp. said in a comprehensive operations update that is has made significant progress with the exploration, development and production initiatives at its Granite Creek, McCoy-Cove, Ruby Hill, and Lone Tree properties in northern Nevada.

At Granite Creek in Humboldt County, i-80 Gold is advancing underground development, surface and underground drilling, increasing mining rates, and progressing updated resource work for economic studies.

At McCoy-Cove, the phase 1 underground development program is nearing completion, and the company says the underground drill program is realizing substantial success.

At 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. i-80 Gold has also received approval to drill test the Hilltop Corridor.

At Lone Tree near Interstate 80, 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,” said 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,” added Downie.

“By completing more detailed initial work, we aim to have a more fluid transition from explorer to miner than is often seen in new start-ups,” concluded Downie.

GRANITE CREEK PROPERTY

i-80 Gold is continuing to advance a decline to provide multiple levels to access the Ogee Zone. Better ground conditions as the development has deepened have allowed for successful mining and reconciliation to the Granite Creek resource estimate. The company said the related preliminary economic assessment has been positive. Four levels have 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 4th 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 the 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,” said 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,” added Gili.

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 to the north in accordance with the company’s existing toll milling agreement.

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 total more than 130,000 feet, is underway, and the company said the initial results are extremely positive. Drilling has demonstrated strong continuity of mineralization with consistent high-grade gold mineralization, according to i-80 Gold. Highlight from the results include 24.1 grams of gold per ton over 46 feet and 44.2 grams of gold per ton over 7 feet.

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.

i-80 Gold says Cove represents one of North America’s highest-grade development-stage gold projects.

“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,” said 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,” added Hill.

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 i-80 Gold’s acquisition of Paycore Minerals Inc., a major multi-drill program is underway focused on expanding mineralization and 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 near 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. Also, i-80 Gold said 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 have been identified along the Hilltop fault structure including 515.3 grams of silver per ton, 28.9 percent lead, 10.5 percent zinc and 0.9 grams of gold per ton over 93 feet.

Early in the 2023 drill program, hole iRH23-09 intersected a large zone of Carlin-type alteration grading 7.3 grams of gold per ton over 33.5 feet about 655 feet south of known mineralization in the Ruby Deeps deposit, in addition to polymetallic mineralization about 820 feet west of the Lower Hilltop Zone that assayed 3.5 grams of gold per ton and 6.7 percent zinc over 60 feet. Additional drilling is testing this area.

Final deposit modeling and mine planning are being completed in advance of the release of a preliminary economic assessment for the Ruby Deeps gold deposit. Permit submissions have been made for approvals to commence underground development (portal and decline) from the Archimedes pit. i-80 Gold said 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, sulfide (refractory) gold mineralization will be processed at NGM facilities in accordance with processing agreements that were previously negotiated.

Source: Elko Daily Free Press

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.

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