
i-80 GOLD CORP. (TSX: IAU) (NYSE: IAUX) reports its operating and financial results for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2022. i-80’s Consolidated Financial Statements, as well as i-80’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Operations and Financial Condition for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2022, are available on the Company’s website at www.i80gold.com, on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov.
Unless otherwise stated, all amounts referred to herein are in U.S. dollars.
2022 Fourth Quarter Highlights:
2022 Full Year Highlights:
“The residual leaching at Lone Tree and Ruby Hill continued to produce ounces during the fourth quarter with 6,769 ounces sold in the quarter.”, stated Ryan Snow, Chief Financial Officer of i-80. “The Residual leaching at both Lone Tree and Ruby Hill produced 21,097 ounces during the year and the Company recognized revenue of $37 million for the year. We invested heavily in exploration in 2022 totaling $38.8 million which resulted in the discovery of the Hilltop Zone at Ruby Hill and the South Pacific Zone at Granite Creek.”
Three months ended December 31, |
Year ended
December 31, |
||||||||
(in thousands of U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted) | 2022 | 2022 | |||||||
Revenue | 11,647 | 36,958 | |||||||
Cost of sales | (13,530) | (28,861) | |||||||
Depletion, depreciation, and amortization | (1,579) | (4,528) | |||||||
Mine operating income / (loss) | (3,462) | 3,569 | |||||||
Expenses | |||||||||
Exploration, evaluation, and pre-development | 6,625 | 38,809 | |||||||
General and administrative | 4,509 | 17,090 | |||||||
Property maintenance | 2,111 | 3,249 | |||||||
Share-based payments | 820 | 3,280 | |||||||
Operating loss | (17,527) | (58,859) |
Production and sales from residual leaching at Ruby Hill and Lone Tree totaled 6,769 ounces for the quarter and 21,097 ounces year to date (YTD) at cash costs per ounce sold of $1,0371 and $1,0531, respectively, and all-in sustaining cost per ounce sold of $1,1371 and $1,1821, respectively.
Exploration, evaluation, and pre-development costs were $6.6 million in Q4 and $38.8 million YTD. This spend mainly reflects the exploration and pre-development work at Granite Creek and Ruby Hill.
Lone Tree Processing Facilities
Lone Tree is expected to become the hub of i-80’s Nevada operations and the central processing facility for mineralization from the Granite Creek, McCoy-Cove and Ruby Hill underground gold deposits. Importantly, Lone Tree is host to infrastructure that, following successful refurbishment efforts, will position i-80 as one of only three companies in the United States capable of processing both oxide and refractory mineralization.
During the quarter, the Company continued to advance the detailed engineering study and cost estimate for the restart of the autoclave.
Residual leaching activities at Lone Tree produced 2,768 ounces gold during Q4 and 8,066 YTD at a cash cost per ounce sold of $8941 and $9361, respectively, and all-in sustaining cost per ounce sold of $1,0671 and $1,1741, respectively.
Granite Creek
The 2022 underground drill program at Granite Creek was focused on delineating mineralization for mining as well as upgrading and expanding resources expected to provide the bulk of mineralization to be mined in the following twelve months. Multiple underground levels have been developed, especially on the Ogee Zone, and the Company continued to extend the decline to depth, with the goal of initiating access to the new South Pacific Zone located immediately below and to the north of the underground mine workings. The Company targets to complete underground drilling and bring the newly discovered South Pacific Zone into the Granite Creek mine plan in 2023. In the upper parts of the mine, high-grade gold mineralization was being defined in the Otto, Adam Peak and Range Front horizons, while from the lower levels drilling was focused on defining mineralization in the Ogee Zone that is expected to be the primary zone in the near future. The amount of drilling completed as of December 31, 2022 totaling 83,887 feet was in line with the Company’s drilling plan.
For the full year 2022, 17,455 tonnes of mineralized material was mined at an average grade of 7.6 g/t. The refractory material was shipped to the Twin Creeks facility for processing pursuant to the toll milling agreement that is in place with Nevada Gold Mines. The oxide material was stockpiled and has subsequently been shipped to Lone Tree for processing.
McCoy-Cove
Total development for the fourth quarter was 1,202 feet and 3,095 feet for the full year which included construction of the exploration ramp which continued on plan. Additional work on metallurgical and hydrology studies, engineering of de-watering and mining options, and reclamation activities associated with the inactive tailings storage facility is also being advanced.
Ruby Hill
During the fourth quarter, drilling of the Ruby Deeps and the Hilltop zones continued with multiple high-grade mineralization intercepts and multiple brownfield exploration targets tested, including discovery of polymetallic mineralization. 4,509 feet of core drilling and 6,875 feet of RC drilling was completed during the quarter, with a combined total of 137,210 feet completed in the year ended December 31, 2022. Due to the substantial success of the 2022 drill campaign at Ruby Hill, the program has been expanded into 2023. The primary targets of the first part of the program will be the Hilltop Corridor that includes polymetallic Carbonate Replacement Deposit (CRD) mineralization including the Upper, Lower and East Hilltop Zones, skarn mineralization in the Blackjack and Hilltop Corridor targets, and multiple untested geophysical anomalies. The Ruby Hill property provides significant optionality as it is host to oxide gold, sulphide gold, polymetallic CRD and skarn base metal mineralization. All deposits are located in close proximity to the underground infrastructure development being planned in 2023.
The Company continued to advance permitting for the construction of a decline to access the high-grade Ruby Deeps deposit and the Blackjack Zone with the intent of trucking refractory mineralization for processing at Lone Tree. The Company also completed a scoping study during the quarter for the restart of the existing oxide mill and subsequent conversion to a base metals facility.
Residual leaching activities at Ruby Hill produced 4,002 ounces gold during Q4 and 13,031 YTD at a cash cost per ounce sold of $1,1351 and $1,1261, respectively, and all-in sustaining cost per ounce sold of $1,1851 and $1,1871, respectively.
Qualified Person
Tyler Hill, CPG-12146, Chief Geologist at i-80 has reviewed this press release and is the Qualified Person for the information contained in it 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 anticipated to be processed at the centrally located Lone Tree processing facility and autoclave.
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