The Project is located on the Company's wholly owned Ruby Hill property in northeastern Nevada, USA, along the Battle Mountain-Eureka gold trend (see Figure 1 in Appendix). The Ruby Hill property also includes the Archimedes underground project, the Company's second planned underground mine which is currently under construction and is anticipated to begin gold production in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Results of a preliminary economic assessment covering the Mineral Point Project ("2025 PEA") were published in February 2025, which outlined a 17-year mine life with annual gold equivalent production of approximately 280,000 ounces following ramp-up, with a base case after-tax net present value (5% discount rate) of $614 million and internal rate of return of 12% at gold and silver prices of $2,175 per ounce and $26 per ounce, respectively (or a net present value of $2.3 billion and internal rate of return of 29% at gold and silver prices of $3,000 per ounce and $35 per ounce, respectively). (To view the related press release dated February 21, 2025, click here).
Highlights From Initial Drill Results
- 1.33 g/t Au and 39.2 g/t Ag over 225.6 m in hole iMP26-07
- 1.70 g/t Au and 61.5 g/t Ag over 170.7 m in hole iMP26-23
- 0.82 g/t Au and 40.1 g/t Ag over 202.7 m in hole iMP26-09
- 1.57 g/t Au and 72.5 g/t Ag over 71.6 m in hole iMP26-11
- 0.36 g/t Au and 24.1 g/t Ag over 263.7 m in hole iMP26-32
- 0.85 g/t Au and 87.7 g/t Ag over 93.0 m in hole iMP26-17
- 0.52 g/t Au and 11.5 g/t Ag over 213.4 m in hole iMP26-35
- 0.99 g/t Au and 5.9 g/t Ag over 201.4 m in hole iRH26-05
"These initial drill results from the Mineral Point open pit drill program are very encouraging. Initial step-out drilling to the east demonstrates potential to expand the existing mineralized footprint while the infill drill results are in line with expectations," stated Tyler Hill, VP Geology. "We continue to see deep oxidation consistent with our geological model and the initial step-out results suggest potential to extend mineralization by approximately one kilometer along strike and 300 meters in width. Overall drilling productivity has continually improved since the initiation of the campaign in April this year through the arrival of additional drill rigs over the past several months. Ongoing infill drilling, metallurgical, and geotechnical work is advancing in parallel in support of a planned pre-feasibility study targeted for mid-2027, continuing to support our view that Mineral Point has the potential to become i-80 Gold's largest producing asset."
Overall, of the 35 initial holes reported, 19 holes were step-out holes outside of the existing mineral resource (see Table 1). All 19 step-out holes encountered mineralization, with over half of the assays reporting more than 100 meters of gold and silver intercepts. 15 step-out holes were drilled east of the known deposit, three holes to the north, and one to the west (iRH26-07) (see Figure 2 in Appendix). The area to the east of the known deposit, which demonstrates the most potential, was drilled sparsely by Homestake Mining Company ("Homestake") in the early 1990s as condemnation drilling for the Archimedes open pit heap leach pad. Although many of the Homestake drill holes confirmed mineralization, the depth of the mineralized intersections and gold price at the time did not support an economic case for further drilling. Early drilling during i-80 Gold's 2026 program has been focused on this area to determine if further drilling is warranted and thus far, initial results have been positive. The mineral resource supporting the 2025 PEA was constrained by a pit-shell using a base case metals price assumptions of $2,175 per ounce of gold and $26 per ounce of silver. Mineralization outside of this pit shell was not included in the 2025 PEA resource model, representing potential upside in a future resource estimate (see Figure 3 in Appendix). Additionally, the area to the east of the known deposit demonstrates similar geological characteristics and was constrained by a lack of drilling.
Table 1: Mineral Point Mineral Resource Estimate (effective December 31, 2025)
The Project is the larger of two oxide open pit projects in i-80 Gold's portfolio and currently extends for approximately 10,000 feet along a major anticlinal structure, with mineralization measuring approximately 3,000 feet wide and up to 900 feet thick. Mineralization consists of disseminated gold and silver primarily hosted in the Hamburg dolomite with oxidation pervasive to depths of 1,500 feet below surface. The deposit is near surface at its southern end and remains open to the east and at depth.
Following the Company's 2026 recapitalization of its balance sheet, a substantial surface drilling program commenced focused primarily on upgrading inferred mineral resources and collecting geotechnical, metallurgical and hydrogeological data to support project optimization and advancement for pre-feasibility level engineering studies. The initial results from the 35 drill holes are presented in Table 2 below.
The ongoing 2026/2027 resource expansion and infill drilling program is targeting approximately 130,000 meters of drilling over 300 drill holes. Approximately 30,000 meters of core and reverse circulation drilling was completed through the end of August using up to seven drill rigs, primarily for infill drilling of the current inferred resource areas and step-out holes beyond the current resource shell. The drill program initially progressed slower than planned due to availability of drill rigs, however, the overall drilling rate has since improved following the mobilization of additional rigs for a total of seven. Completion of the program is presently expected in the first quarter of 2027, although this may extend past this date pending assay results and the potential to delineate expanded areas of mineralization.
Results from the drilling program are expected to support a pre-feasibility study targeted for approximately mid-2027, pending timing of completion of the drilling program. Early-stage pre-permitting activities are also underway.
The 2026/2027 exploration spend is expected to total between $40 to $45 million for Mineral Point, in addition to approximately $5 million for technical and early-stage pre-permitting activities. These expenditures are expected to be funded through a portion of the proceeds from the Franco-Nevada Corporation royalty financing completed in March 2026, of which an initial $25 million was received and allocated to Mineral Point, and a second payment of $25 million is expected to become available for Mineral Point after the initial allocation is spent.
Given the scale and economic potential of Mineral Point, the Company continues to evaluate opportunities to optimize the sequencing of its gold projects to potentially advance the timing of Mineral Point within its development plan, which is currently within Phase 3.
Table 2: Initial Drill Results From the Ongoing 2026 Drill Program at Mineral Point
Table 3: Drill Hole Collar Coordinates
Technical Disclosure and Qualified Persons
The technical information contained in this press release has been prepared under the supervision of, and has been reviewed and approved by Paul Chawrun P.Eng., Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and Tyler Hill CPG., Vice President Geology, each of whom is an employee of the Company and a "qualified person" within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and in Subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K ("S-K 1300"). Neither Mr. Chawrun nor Mr. Hill is independent of the Company within the meaning of NI 43-101.
All samples were submitted to ALS Minerals (ALS) of Sparks, NV, which is an ISO 9001 and 17025 certified and accredited laboratory, independent of the Company. Samples submitted through ALS are run through standard prep methods and analyzed using Au-AA23 (Au; 30g fire assay) and ME-MS61 (48 element suite; 0.25g four-acid/ICP-AES & ICP-MS). ALS also undertakes their own internal coarse and pulp duplicate analysis to ensure proper sample preparation and equipment calibration. i-80 Gold's QA/QC program includes regular insertion of standards, duplicates, and blanks into the sample stream with a stringent review of all results.
The 2025 PEA was prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the corresponding Initial Assessment prepared under S-K 1300, each filed in March 2025. The related press release titled "i-80 Gold Announces Positive Preliminary Economic Assessment on the Mineral Point Open Pit Project, Nevada; After-Tax NPV(5%) of $614 Million with an After-Tax IRR of 12% at US$2,175/oz Au" announcing results and assumptions from the PEA was filed on February 21, 2025.
For a description of the data verification, assay procedures and the quality assurance program and quality control measures applied by the Company, please see the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, as well as the information in respect of data verification, key assumptions, parameters, risks and other factors contained in the 2025 PEA and the corresponding Initial Assessment dated March 31, 2025.
All documents are accessible under the Company's issuer profile on both SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and EDGAR at www.sec.gov, as well as on the Company's website at www.i80gold.com. The 2025 PEA is preliminary in nature and includes an economic analysis that is based, in part, on inferred mineral resources. Inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have for the application of economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the results of the 2025 PEA will be realized.