RENO,
Nev., May 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - i-80 GOLD
CORP. (TSX: IAU) (NYSE: IAUX) ("i-80", or the
"Company") reports its operating and financial results for
the three months ended March 31,
2023. i-80's Consolidated Interim Financial Statements
("financial statements"), as well as i-80's Management's Discussion
and Analysis of Operations and Financial Condition ("MD&A") for
the three months ended March 31,
2023, 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.
2023 First Quarter Highlights:
- Q1 2023 gold sales of 2,349 ounces, including the first gold
sold from the Granite Creek property
- March 31 cash balance of
$57 million and $33 million in restricted cash
- Continued exploration success at Ruby Hill including multiple
new high-grade discoveries and expansion of gold and polymetallic
mineralization
- 6,890 core feet and 320 RC feet drilled to expand monitoring of
the hydraulic properties at McCoy Cove
- Continued underground core drilling delineation of the CSD Gap
ore body at McCoy Cove (10,699 feet)
- 9,389 tons of oxide mineralized material shipped to Lone Tree
from Granite Creek for processing
- Entered into an agreement to acquire Paycore Minerals Inc.
- Engineering Class III study of Lone Tree autoclave
refurbishment continued on plan
"We are encouraged to have achieved the milestone of our first
gold sale from Granite Creek, with over 400 ounces sold. We
continue to advance development and improve production capabilities
at this site and expect a ramp up through 2023. In addition, we
continued to have production from the residual leaching at both
Lone Tree and Ruby Hill", stated Ryan
Snow, Chief Financial Officer of i-80. "We continued to
advance development at McCoy-Cove and exploration at Ruby Hill
spending nearly $9.0 million during
the quarter to further understand the Hilltop and Blackjack zones
at Ruby Hill and the CSD Gap ore body at McCoy Cove. With the
additional capital raise completed in February, we will continue to
advance i-80's projects towards our ultimate goal of being a
mid-tier Nevada focused
producer."
|
Three months
ended
March 31,
|
(in thousands of
U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted)
|
2023
|
2022
|
|
|
|
Revenue
|
4,548
|
2,857
|
Cost of
sales
|
(6,542)
|
(1,525)
|
Depletion, depreciation
and amortization
|
(1,421)
|
(167)
|
Mine operating
income (loss)
|
(3,415)
|
1,165
|
|
|
|
Expenses
|
|
|
Exploration,
evaluation, and pre-development
|
8,979
|
9,254
|
General and
administrative
|
5,191
|
3,273
|
Property
maintenance
|
2,449
|
326
|
Share-based
payments
|
1,308
|
1,442
|
Operating
loss
|
(21,342)
|
(13,130)
|
Production and sales totaled 2,349 gold ounces for the quarter
at a realized gold price of $1,9271 per ounce sold.
Exploration, evaluation, and pre-development costs were
$9.0 million in Q1. This expenditure
mainly reflects the exploration and pre-development work at McCoy
Cove and Ruby Hill.
Lone Tree
Lone Tree is expected to become the hub of i-80's Nevada operations and the central processing
facility for gold 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 leaching the residual
material on the pads as planned and shipped approximately 1,950
ounces of gold on loaded carbon from site to further processing.
Additionally, the Company continued to advance the engineering
study and cost estimate for the restart of the autoclave.
Lone Tree produced and sold from its residual leaching
activities 663 ounces of gold during Q1 at a realized gold price of
$1,9621 per ounce
sold.
Granite Creek
During Q1 the Company continued its efforts to upgrade existing
de-watering infrastructure to ensure efficient operations and have
mined 16,648 tons of mineralized material at an average grade of
9.9 g/t, of which 9,389 tons of oxide material was hauled to the
Lone Tree leach pad to continue processing. As of March 31, 2023, 1,870 feet of development were
completed as part of the Company's ramp up plan.
Granite Creek produced and sold 444 ounces of gold during Q1, at
a realized gold price of $1,9381 per ounce sold.
McCoy-Cove
There was 7,210 feet of core and RC drilling conducted during
the first quarter of 2023 for hydrogeologic characterization to
support permitting efforts. Underground delineation drilling
continued during Q1 with 10,699 feet of core drilled. Expenditures
continued during the quarter on the exploration ramp and hydrology
studies, and engineering of de-watering and mining options. As of
the end of the first quarter, development footage completed was
1,308 feet. Total footage development of the project life as of Q1
2023 is 4,403 feet.
Ruby Hill
During the first quarter of 2023, drilling at Ruby Hill was
primarily focused on further definition and expansion of high-grade
polymetallic mineralization along the Hilltop fault structure,
successfully extending mineralization over a strike length of
approximately 750 metres and resulting in the discovery of
additional zones. 13,875 feet of core drilling and 25,750 feet of
RC drilling was completed during the quarter. In addition to
drilling at Hilltop, multiple holes are being drilled to test the
Blackjack Zone and these holes are intended at testing new targets.
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.
Residual leaching activities at Ruby Hill produced and sold
1,242 ounces of gold during Q1 at a realized gold price of
$1,9041 per ounce
sold.
Investor Day Presentation
The Company will hold an "Investor Day" presentation immediately
following its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on May 9, 2023, being held at Bennett Jones LLP
office – 100 King St W Suite 3400, Toronto in the Canada Boardroom on the 34th
floor. The in–person AGM will begin at 4:00pm EST followed by the Investor Day
presentation commencing at 4:30pm
EST. The presentation can also be accessed via a conference
call and webcast (details below). Investors are invited to attend
the event in–person where they can meet and discuss details with
members of i-80's Board of Directors and Management Team.
Conference Call
Participant Details
|
Webcast
URL:
|
https://app.webinar.net/AyeNd3zbxWk
|
Phone Number
Information:
|
North American
Toll-free:
1-888-664-6383
|
|
Local
Toronto:
1-416-764-8650
|
Qualified Persons
Tyler Hill, CPG-12146, Chief
Geologist, and Tim George, PE, Mining Operations Manager, at i-80
have reviewed this press release and are the Qualified Persons for
the information contained herein and are 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 with processing at i-80's centralized milling facilities.
i-80 Gold's common shares are listed on the TSX and the NYSE
American under the trading symbol IAU:TSX and IAUX:NYSE. Further
information about i-80 Gold's portfolio of assets and long-term
growth strategy is available at www.i80gold.com or by email at
info@i80gold.com.
Forward-looking information
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, actual
production results and costs, results of operation outcomes and
timing of updated technical studies at the Company's mineral
projects, timing to advance mineral projects to production
and advance permitting and feasibility work on the on its mineral
projects and future production, development and exploration
results. 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: material adverse
changes, unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their
enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to
contracts with the company to perform as agreed; social or labor
unrest; changes in commodity prices; and the failure of exploration
programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that
would justify and support continued exploration, studies,
development or operations. For a more detailed discussion of such
risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements, refer to i-80's filings with Canadian securities
regulators, including the most recent Annual Information Form,
available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
NON-IFRS FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES
The Company has included certain terms or performance measures
commonly used in the mining industry that are not defined under
IFRS in this document. These include: adjusted net earnings and
average realized price per ounce. Non-IFRS financial performance
measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under
IFRS, and therefore, they may not be comparable to similar measures
employed by other companies. The data presented is intended to
provide additional information and should not be considered in
isolation or as a substitute for measures prepared in accordance
with IFRS and should be read in conjunction with the Company's
Financial Statements.
Definitions
Adjusted earnings / (loss) and adjusted earnings / (loss) per
share excludes from net earnings / (loss) significant
write-down adjustments and the gain / (loss) from financing
instruments.
Average realized gold price represents the sales price of
gold per ounce before deducting mining royalties, treatment and
refining charges and gains or losses derived from the offtake
agreement with Orion.
Average realized gold price per ounce of gold sold
Average realized gold price per ounce of gold sold is a non-IFRS
measure and does not constitute a measure recognized by IFRS and
does not have a standardized meaning defined by IFRS. It may not be
comparable to information in other gold producers' reports and
filings.
|
|
Three months
ended
March 31,
|
(in thousands of
U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted)(i)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nevada
production
|
|
2023
|
2022
|
Revenue per financial
statements
|
$
|
4,548
|
2,864
|
Silver revenue from
mining operations
|
$
|
(21)
|
(7)
|
Gold revenue from
mining operations
|
$
|
4,527
|
2,857
|
Ounces of gold
sold
|
ounce
|
2,349
|
1,489
|
Average realized
gold price
|
$/ounce
|
1,927
|
1,918
|
|
|
|
|
Lone
Tree
|
|
|
|
Revenue per financial
statements
|
$
|
1,304
|
1,631
|
Silver revenue from
mining operations
|
$
|
(4)
|
(7)
|
Gold revenue from
mining operations
|
$
|
1,300
|
1,624
|
Ounces of gold
sold
|
ounce
|
663
|
843
|
Average realized
gold price
|
$/ounce
|
1,962
|
1,926
|
|
|
|
|
Ruby
Hill
|
|
|
|
Revenue per financial
statements
|
$
|
2,382
|
1,233
|
Silver revenue from
mining operations
|
$
|
(16)
|
—
|
Gold revenue from
mining operations
|
$
|
2,366
|
1,233
|
Ounces of gold
sold
|
ounce
|
1,242
|
646
|
Average realized
gold price
|
$/ounce
|
1,904
|
1,908
|
|
|
|
|
Granite
Creek
|
|
|
|
Revenue per financial
statements
|
$
|
861
|
—
|
Silver revenue from
mining operations
|
$
|
—
|
—
|
Gold revenue from
mining operations
|
$
|
861
|
—
|
Ounces of gold
sold
|
ounce
|
444
|
—
|
Average realized
gold price
|
$/ounce
|
1,938
|
—
|
(i) May not add due to
rounding.
|
Adjusted Earnings / (Loss)
Adjusted earnings / (loss) and adjusted earnings / (loss) per
share are non-IFRS measures that the Company considers to better
reflect normalized earnings because it eliminates non-recurring
items. Certain items that become applicable in a period may be
adjusted for, with the Company retroactively presenting comparable
periods with an adjustment for such items and conversely, items no
longer applicable may be removed from the calculation. Neither
adjusted earnings / (loss) nor adjusted earnings / (loss) per share
have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore
unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other
companies.
The following table shows a reconciliation of adjusted earnings
/ (loss) for the three months ended March
31, 2023 and 2022, to the net earnings / (loss) for each
period.
|
Three months
ended
March 31,
|
(in thousands of
U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted)(i)
|
2023
|
2022
|
|
|
|
Net loss for the
period
|
$
(13,118)
|
$
(23,263)
|
Adjust
for:
|
|
|
Gain / (loss) on
warrants
|
5,568
|
(3,105)
|
Gain / (loss) on
convertible loans
|
8,366
|
(6,093)
|
Loss on deferred
consideration
|
(427)
|
(844)
|
Loss on fair value
measurement of Gold Prepayment Agreement
|
(3,091)
|
—
|
Loss on fair value
measurement of Silver Purchase Agreement
|
(857)
|
—
|
Inventory net
realizable value adjustment
|
(4,025)
|
—
|
Total
adjustments
|
$
5,534
|
$
(10,042)
|
Adjusted loss for
the period
|
$
(18,652)
|
$
(13,221)
|
Weighted average
shares for the period
|
245,603,313
|
239,301,138
|
Adjusted loss per
share for the period
|
$
(0.08)
|
$
(0.06)
|
(i) May not add due to
rounding.
|
1 Specified financial measure
which is not a standardized measure under IFRS and may not be
comparable to similar specified financial measures used by other
entities. Please see "Non-IFRS Financial Performance
Measures" for the composition of such specified financial
measure, an explanation of how such specified financial measure
provides useful information to a reader and the purposes for which
management of i-80 uses the specified financial measure, and where
required, a reconciliation of the specified financial measure to
the most directly comparable IFRS measure.
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SOURCE i-80 Gold Corp