I-80 GOLD CORP. (TSE: IAU) (NYSEAMERICAN: IAUX) anticipates recovering between 20,000 to 30,000 gold ounces from its Granite Creek Underground property in Nevada for 2025, according to the preliminary economic assessment released on Wednesday.
The company intends on releasing an updated operational plan with a feasibility study for Granite Creek in Q4, 2025. The property is also the first in the company’s pipeline to be redeveloped, and it’s presently preparing for full production. The project is located in the intersection between the Battle Mountain-Eureka and Getchell gold trends in northern Nevada.
This PEA does not incorporate drilling conducted in 2023 and 2024. It also doesn’t account for the effects of underground water management in the 2025 mine plan. As a result, the company’s 2025 production forecast, which is still in development, differs from the PEA schedule. i-80 Gold expects to produce between 20,000 and 30,000 ounces of gold at Granite Creek Underground this year.
“Our exploration results at Granite Creek Underground to-date suggest significant potential for resource growth and expansion,” said Richard Young, CEO.
“As a result, an extensive drill program is planned in the coming years to realize that potential. The PEA also demonstrates that once our Lone Tree autoclave is refurbished as anticipated in 2028, production and cash flow are expected to increase materially.”
The Granite Creek Underground PEA outlines a high-grade underground gold mine with an estimated life of approximately eight years. Once production ramps up, i-80 expects to produce an average of 60,000 ounces of gold per year. Estimated life-of-mine cash costs are USD$1,366 per ounce, while all-in sustaining costs are projected at USD$1,597 per ounce.
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The area hosts approximately 20 million gold ounces
i-80 Gold’s updated mineral resource estimate defines a measured and indicated gold resource of 261,000 ounces at 10.5 g/t and an inferred gold resource of 326,000 ounces at 13.0 g/t. This estimate does not incorporate infill drilling conducted at Granite Creek Underground in 2023 and 2024. Additionally, the company plans to complete infill and step-out drilling on the South Pacific zone in 2025 for inclusion in a feasibility study scheduled for Q4 2025.
Granite Creek Underground has significant potential for resource expansion based on exploration work conducted to date. The property is located just 10 km from the prolific Turquoise Ridge Complex within Nevada Gold Mines’ joint venture. Furthermore, the area currently hosts approximately 20 million ounces of gold. The company plans to drill the property in the coming years to test the system.
At a gold price of USD$2,175 per ounce, the project generates USD$197 million in undiscounted after-tax cash flows and an after-tax net present value (NPV) of USD$155 million, assuming a 5 per cent discount rate. At a spot gold price of USD$2,900 per ounce, after-tax cash flows increase to USD$420 million, with an after-tax NPV of USD$344 million using the same discount rate. Mine construction is complete, and the company estimates life-of-mine (LOM) development and sustaining capital at USD$105 million.
The company plans further exploration at Granite Creek Underground, including an infill drilling program in the Ogee, Otto, and South Pacific zones in 2023 and 2024. Additionally, a 15,000-meter infill and step-out drill program will target the South Pacific Zone to expand the resource and move a portion of the indicated mineral resources to reserves in that zone.
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The property produces around 1 million ounces of gold
i-80 Gold will include all drilling conducted since the beginning of 2023 in the planned feasibility study for Granite Creek Underground.The Granite Creek property also includes the Granite Creek Open Pit deposit, which is adjacent to the underground mine and currently in the permitting stage.
The property lies approximately 43 km northwest of Winnemucca, Humboldt County, Nevada.
Granite Creek Underground is ramping up to full production and expects to achieve commercial production in 2026. The PEA projects an initial mine life of approximately eight years, with annual gold production peaking at about 80,000 ounces and averaging 60,000 ounces following ramp-up. The company has put a third-party process agreement for mined material in place until the refurbishment of the Lone Tree autoclave is completed, which will delay annual production and cash flows for the next three years.
The Battle Mountain-Eureka Trend, located in central Nevada, is a prolific gold-producing region known for its rich mineralization. The trend produces primarily oxide and sulfide gold, with deposits often requiring complex processing methods like cyanide heap leaching and autoclaving.
Calibre Mining Corp. (TSE: CXB) (OTCMKTS: CXBMF) operates the Pan Mine, an open-pit gold mine extracting oxide gold through cyanide heap leaching. Another key player in the trend is Barrick Gold Corp (TSE: ABX) (NYSE: GOLD), which operates the Goldstrike Mine, one of the largest gold operations in the world, producing both oxide and sulfide gold. The trend remains a hub for significant gold exploration and production.
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