Launches Nevada Focused Mining
Complex
All currencies expressed as United States dollars unless otherwise
stated
RENO, Nev., Oct. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - i-80 GOLD
CORP. (TSX:IAU) (OTCQX:IAUCF) ("i-80", or the
"Company") is very pleased to announce the Closing of the
Ruby Hill Mine acquisition from Waterton Nevada Splitter, LLC and
Waterton Nevada Splitter II, LLC (Collectively "Waterton")
and with the previously announced closing of the Lone Tree
complex, launch of a Nevada focused growth Company.
Ruby Hill, which includes multiple deposits that collectively
represent one of Nevada's largest gold, silver and base metal
endowments, was acquired from Waterton and i-80 has taken over
operating the current open pit mine. When combined with the
acquisition of the Lone Tree and Buffalo Mountain gold deposits,
that were acquired from Nevada Gold Mines LLC ("NGM"),
including certain processing infrastructure, i-80 Gold is one of
the largest holders of gold and silver resources in the State and
is positioned to become a prominent, stand alone, growth-oriented
gold producer. The Company now embarks on its plan to advance
multiple projects to production over the next several years.
Highlights of the transactions are as follows (see press release
dated September 7, 2021):
- i-80 becomes one of the largest holders of gold and silver
resources in Nevada:
-
- 6.3 M ounces of overall
measured + indicated gold resources and 104.5 M ounces of overall measured + indicated
silver resource1 (256.6 Mt of 0.76 g/t Au and 12.7 g/t Ag)
- 8.4 M ounces of overall
inferred gold resources and 76.5 M
ounces of overall inferred silver resources (228.3 Mt of 1.15 g/t
Au and 10.4 g/t Ag)
- Secures for i-80, the ability to process multiple types of
gold bearing mineralization at a centrally located and permitted
processing facility situated on Interstate 80. The Lone Tree
facility includes an autoclave, CIL mill, floatation mill and heap
leach facility
- Interim processing agreements with NGM provide i-80 with the
ability to immediately advance its project portfolio – a test
mining program at Granite Creek is underway, Buffalo Mountain is
currently being permitted, and the Company is advancing plans to
commence an underground development program at McCoy-Cove
- Working to close financing arrangements totaling
~US$227 million with access a further
$100 million complement the Company's
strong cash position. Major participants in the equity financing,
which closed on October 14, 2021, of
~US$102 million include NGM
subscribing to acquire a 9.9% interest in i-80 through the private
placement, Orion subscribing to top up to a 9.9% interest in i-80,
and participation from several members of the board and
management
"The recent transactions to acquire Ruby Hill, Lone Tree and
Buffalo Mountain not only make i-80 one of the largest holders of
gold and silver resources in the United
States, but also positions the Company to become one of
Nevada's most prominent producers with substantial processing
infrastructure including an autoclave", stated Ewan Downie, Chief Executive Officer of i-80.
"We are now in a position to begin accelerating mine development at
multiple sites with the interim processing agreements entered into
with Nevada Gold Mines and will
focus on executing our plan to build a mid-tier gold producing
company."
Ruby Hill Acquisition
Ruby Hill represents one of Nevada's premier mining projects
with existing production from the Archimedes open pit and a large
property package that is host to multiple gold, gold/silver, and
polymetallic gold deposits, that collectively comprise one of the
largest and highest-grade, permitted, gold deposits in Nevada (see Figure 1).
- Substantial open pit gold and silver resources1
within the Mineral Point open pit deposit
-
- 3.2 million ounces of gold and 97.5 million ounces of silver
Indicated Resources within 203.2 Mt with an average grade of 0.49
g/t Au and 14.9 g/t Ag
- 1.9 million ounces of gold and 72.4 million ounces of silver
Inferred Resources within 157.3 Mt with an average grade of 0.37
g/t Au and 14.3 g/t Ag
- High-grade gold mineralization at the Ruby Deeps deposit
that remains wide open along strike to the north
-
- 1.59 million ounces of gold in inferred mineral resources of
8.2 Mt with an average grade of 6.02 g/t Au
- High-grade poly-metallic mineralization has been defined
within the Blackjack target that remains open along strike and at
depth
Pursuant to a membership interest purchase agreement with
Waterton, on October 15, 2021 the
Company acquired all of the membership interests of the Ruby Hill
Mining Company, LLC which owns the Ruby Hill Mine for a purchase
price of US$75 million in cash and
3,191,358 i-80 common shares at closing (valued at US$8 million), and future milestone payments of
up to US$67 million. The
milestone payments are subject to an early payment option that
could reduce total milestone payments to US$47 million, and the Company may satisfy a
portion of the milestone payments with i-80 common shares under
certain circumstances described in more detail in the September 7th press release.
Ruby Hill includes an open pit mine and related infrastructure
(mill/heap leach) and is located immediately west of the town of
Eureka proximal to Highway 50.
Multiple gold and polymetallic exploration targets exist on the
property and i-80 will begin an aggressive exploration program
beginning immediately. The Company will begin 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. Completion of the current mine plan at the Ruby Hill pit
will continue with processing at the heap leach facility on the
property. Ruby Hill also includes crushing and CIL processing
infrastructure (see Figure 2).
Acquisition Financing
The Company is continuing to work with Orion to complete the
remaining $125 Million financing
package, which is expected to also close in the near term. The
remaining Orion financing is contemplated to include a pre-pay gold
loan, convertible loan and, at the election of i-80, an accordion
feature of up to an additional $100
million. The financing is subject to completion of due
diligence by Orion and the execution of definitive
agreements.
Share Capitalization
Following the financing and acquisitions, the current share
capitalization of the Company is 233,064,019 shares issued and
outstanding.
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a
solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein in
the United States or in any other
jurisdiction, nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any
state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
The securities have not been and will not be registered under the
U.S. Securities Act, or any state securities laws, and accordingly,
may not be offered or sold in the United
States except in compliance with the registration
requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state
securities requirements or pursuant to exemptions therefrom.
About i-80 Gold Corp.
i-80 Gold Corp. is a well-financed Nevada-focused mining company
with a goal of achieving mid-tier gold producer status.
www.i80gold.com
Global Mineral Resources
|
Tonnes
|
Au
Grade
|
Ag
Grade
|
Au
Ounces
|
Ag
Ounces
|
|
(kt)
|
(Au
g/t)
|
(Ag
g/t)
|
(Koz)
|
(Koz)
|
Measured
|
|
|
|
|
|
Granite Creek - Open
Pit
|
9,733
|
2.33
|
|
730
|
|
Granite Creek -
Underground
|
167
|
9.87
|
|
53
|
|
Lone Tree - Open
Pit
|
5,368
|
1.17
|
6.6
|
200
|
1,145
|
McCoy-Cove -
Underground
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ruby Hill - Open
Pit
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ruby Hill -
Underground
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Indicated
|
|
|
|
|
|
Granite Creek - Open
Pit
|
10,734
|
1.58
|
|
545
|
|
Granite Creek -
Underground
|
396
|
10.69
|
|
136
|
|
Lone Tree - Open
Pit
|
7,223
|
1.77
|
|
410
|
|
McCoy-Cove -
Underground
|
1,007
|
10.90
|
29.1
|
351
|
943
|
Ruby Hill - Open
Pit
|
224,400
|
0.54
|
14.3
|
3,874
|
103,335
|
Ruby Hill -
Underground
|
1,200
|
5.22
|
0.6
|
202
|
22
|
Measured &
Indicated
|
260,228
|
0.78
|
12.6
|
6,501
|
105,445
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Inferred
|
|
|
|
|
|
Granite Creek - Open
Pit
|
1,260
|
1.60
|
|
65
|
|
Granite Creek -
Underground
|
1,521
|
11.88
|
|
581
|
|
Lone Tree - Open
Pit
|
50,734
|
1.69
|
|
2,764
|
|
McCoy-Cove -
Underground
|
3,867
|
10.90
|
20.6
|
1,353
|
2,565
|
Ruby Hill - Open
Pit
|
162,700
|
0.39
|
14.0
|
2,061
|
73,471
|
Ruby Hill -
Underground
|
8,210
|
6.02
|
1.7
|
1,588
|
439
|
Inferred
|
228,291
|
1.15
|
10.4
|
8,412
|
76,475
|
Notes:
|
1.
|
MCOY-COVE: 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. Practical
Mining LLC, under the supervision of Dagny Odell, P.E., Laura
Symmes, SME,
and Robert Raponi, P. Eng., each being Qualified Persons within the
meaning National Instrument (NI) 43-101, was the lead consultant
for the
Project PEA.
|
2.
|
GRANITE CREEK
(Getchell): Mineral Resources were calculated at a gold price of
US$1550/oz cut-off grade 0.014 opt Au and is based on the
mineral resource technical report issued by i-80 on April 13, 2021.
AMC Mining Consultants (Canada) Ltd., under the supervision Dr.
Paul
Greenhill FAusIMM (CP), MAICD, and Dinara Nussipakynova, P.Geo.,
each being Qualified Persons within the meaning National Instrument
(NI)
43-101, was the lead consultant for the Project mineral resource
estimate
|
3.
|
LONE TREE: Mineral
Resources were calculated at a gold price of US$1650/oz, cut-off
grade of 0.1 g/t Au and is based on the news release
issued by i-80 on September 7, 2021. Mr. Abani Samal, Ph.D., CPG,
RM- SME, Fellow-SEG a GeoGlobal, LLC Principal is the
Qualified Person
responsible for the Mineral Resource estimate. A NI 43-101
technical report detailing the update will be filled within 45 days
of the news release.
|
4.
|
RUBY HILL: Mineral
Resources were calculated at a gold price of US$1650/oz, cut-off
grade 0.1 g/t Au. and is based on the news release issued b
y i-80 on September 7, 2021. Mr. Christopher Wright, P. Geo, a Wood
Canada Ltd. employee, is the Qualified Person responsible for
the
Mineral Resource estimate. A NI 43-101 technical report detailing
the update will be filled within 45 days of the news
release.
|
5.
|
Mineral resources are
not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic
viability.
|
Technical Information
Tim George, PE, Manager of Engineering Services, reviewed the
technical and scientific information contained in this press
release and is a Qualified Person within the meaning of NI
43-101.
Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking
statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of
applicable securities laws, including but not limited to, financing
transaction with Orion, completion of refurbishment and development
activities at the Lone Tree project, commencement of mining
operations at the Lone Tree and Buffalo Mountain projects or
exploration and development activities the Ruby Hill mine. 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", "predict" and other similar
terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results
"may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" 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 release.
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, failure to
complete the Orion financing transaction on satisfactory terms,
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.
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors Concerning Estimates of
Resources: This press release 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 press release 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 in
accordance with Industry Guide 7 or the SEC's new mining disclosure
rules in Regulation S-K 1300. SEC Industry Guide 7 does not
recognize the existence of resources. Under Regulation 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 Regulation S-K 1300 and therefore
information contained in the press release may not be comparable to
similar information made public by public U.S. companies pursuant
to the Regulation S-K 1300 or SEC Industry Guide 7.
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SOURCE i-80 Gold Corp