Toronto – October 14, 2026 -- i-80 Gold Corp. (NYSE: IAUX, TSX: IAU) has reprioritized its Nevada pipeline to make the Mineral Point open pit its next major development project, ahead of the Granite Creek open pit, while keeping its target of 150,000 to 200,000 ounces of annual gold production from 2028.
Mineral Point moves to the front of the growth queue
The company calls Mineral Point its most valuable project. Its March 2025 preliminary economic assessment (PEA) outlined potential annual production of about 280,000 gold equivalent ounces over a 17-year mine life. The project hosts a large gold-silver oxide resource and would add a large-scale open pit heap leach operation.
The Cove underground project moves later in the sequence, as a future source of refractory feed for the Lone Tree Plant. Resource expansion potential at Granite Creek and Archimedes underground could supply Lone Tree for longer than previously contemplated. Granite Creek's measured and indicated resources rose about 230% in the September 2026 feasibility study versus the March 2025 PEA.
COO Paul Chawrun said the revised sequence aligns capital allocation with feed supply and processing capacity. It also supports organic growth toward 500,000 to 600,000 ounces of average annual gold production under the broader plan.
Lone Tree refurbishment has drawn about 10% of contingency
The December 2025 engineering study put total refurbishment capital at $430 million, including about 12% contingency, owner's costs and capital spares. About 10% of project contingency has been drawn and about 44% of capital was committed at the end of the third quarter of 2026. Cash expenditures are trending below 2026 guidance of $140 million to $160 million.
Labor costs are running 5% to 10% above initial estimates because of the competitive Northern Nevada labor market. The company says these overruns sit within contingency.
Bulk demolition finished in the third quarter of 2026. Mobilization is underway for initial construction, focused on civil preparation and concrete work, which is due to start in the fourth quarter of 2026. About 74% of procurement packages by value had been awarded by the end of September 2026. The company expects all major procurement and contracts in place by the end of 2026. The first gold pour is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027.
The plant is federally permitted, and state permits needed for site contractor mobilization were received on schedule.
Owner-operator model targets $1,000 to $1,500 per ounce in margin gains
Lone Tree is intended to become the central processing hub for the company's three underground gold projects, replacing toll milling with an owner-operator model. The December 2025 study expects the plant to lift cash margins by $1,000 to $1,500 per ounce of gold, depending on grade and gold price.
At 85% plant availability, the integrated pressure oxidation and carbon-in-leach circuits are expected to process about 2,250 tonnes per day, or roughly 825,000 tonnes per year, of refractory and oxide material. i-80 Gold is one of two gold companies in Nevada with autoclave capacity. The other is owned by Nevada Gold Mines, a joint venture of Barrick Mining Corporation and Newmont Corporation.
Archimedes oxide discovery could lower processing costs
Archimedes underground, the company's second underground mine, is on schedule to start production mining in the fourth quarter of 2026. A feasibility study is targeted for approximately mid-2027, pending the timing of additional drilling.
Drilling continues to intersect significant oxide intervals in the 426 zone, outside the resource estimate behind the March 2025 PEA. The company is evaluating heap leaching more oxide than the PEA contemplated, using the existing active heap leach pad at Ruby Hill. That could cost less than processing through Lone Tree's carbon-in-leach circuit. Metallurgical test work is ongoing to establish recoveries and confirm viability.
Refractory material is expected to be stockpiled ahead of Lone Tree's commissioning. Drilling in the lower 426 and Ruby Deeps zones is testing extensions that could support longer-term refractory feed.