RENO,
Nev., Jan. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - i-80 GOLD
CORP. (TSX: IAU) (NYSE: IAUX) ("i-80", or the
"Company") is pleased to announce that the expanded 2023
drill program is now underway at the Company's 100%-owned Ruby Hill
Property ("Ruby Hill" or "the Property") located in
Eureka County, Nevada.
Due to the substantial success of the 2022 drill campaign, that
included multiple new discoveries, additional rigs have been added
such that a total of six core and RC drill rigs have been, or are
being, activated. The primary targets of the first part of the
program will be the Hilltop Corridor that includes polymetallic
Carbonate Replacement Deposit (CRD) mineralization including the
Upper Hilltop Zone, skarn mineralization in the Blackjack and
Hilltop Corridor targets, and multiple untested geophysical
anomalies.
"Outstanding results and new discoveries at Ruby Hill confirm
the potential to grow resources in multiple gold and poly-metallic
target areas", stated Ewan Downie,
CEO of i-80. "We are currently assessing the potential for a
restart of the processing infrastructure at Ruby Hill for either
gold or base metal mineralization including the economic
opportunity, timing for start-up and the low capital requirement.
As such, we are focusing our drill program to help us better
understand what the priority should be."
The Hilltop Corridor is a 1.5 km long, alluvial covered, trend
immediately south of the Archimedes pit believed to be host to
multiple feeder fault structures (see Figure 1). This trend is
largely untested by previous drilling owing to the alluvial
cover. The discovery of the Upper and Lower Hilltop Zones in
the second half of 2022 combined with hole iRH22-61, the first hole
drilled to test for mineralization to the east of Hilltop and south
of the Blackjack Deposit, confirm the Company geological team's
model that the Ruby Hill Property could be host to multiple types
of mineralization and several large-scale deposits.
Upper Hilltop Zone
The Upper Hilltop Zone is a near-surface, high-grade, CRD zone
that was discovered on the south side of the Archimedes pit (see
Figures 1 & 2) that was first drilled in August of 2022.
Previously released results from drilling in the Upper Hilltop Zone
(see press releases dated August 30,
2022 and November 14, 2022)
returned high-grade intercepts include:
- 0.9 g/t Au, 515.3 g/t Ag, 10.5 % Zn & 28.9 % Pb over
28.3 m in hole iRH22-43
- 1.9 g/t Au, 631.3 g/t Ag, 7.4 % Zn & 33.0 % Pb over
18.3 m in hole iRH22-53
- 60.2 g/t Au, 908.7 g/t Ag, 1.1 % Zn & 15.7 % Pb over
10.0 m in hole iRH22-55
Additional results from the 2022 program testing both the Upper
and Lower Hilltop Zones remain pending and will be released upon
receipt.
Blackjack Deposit
The Blackjack deposit was discovered by previous operators,
Barrick Gold and Homestake Mining
Co. High-grade polymetallic (zinc, lead, gold and silver)
skarn mineralization located immediately below the Archimedes pit
was intersected in numerous holes but was never brought to resource
status. Highlight historic intercepts drilled into the Blackjack
deposit include1:
- 27.3 % Zn, 3.2 g/t Au, & 13.0 g/t Ag over 24.5 m in hole HC1751
- 28.0 % Zn, 4.9 % Pb, 0.3 g/t Au, & 195.0 g/t Ag over
17.1 m in hole BRH-06C
Two directional core rigs are currently drilling this target so
that i-80 can complete a NI43-101 compliant resource for the
deposit and additional step-out drilling will also be
completed.
Hilltop Corridor
Drilling
In late 2022, hole iRH22-61 was drilled east from one of the
Upper Hilltop drill platforms to test for skarn mineralization,
similar to the Blackjack deposit, proximal to the Graveyard Flats
intrusive complex (see Figures 1 & 2). Hole iRH22-61
intersected high-grade mineralization approximately 450 metres to
the south of Blackjack, assaying an impressive 12.3 % Zn over
39.8 m (see press release dated
December 19, 2022). This target
area remains wide open for expansion and is currently being tested
by additional drilling.
Geophysical surveys have been completed over the Hilltop
Corridor area and have identified several highly prospective
anomalies that are believed to have the potential to represent
additional massive sulfide targets. Several of these
anomalies will be the tested in the 2023 drilling program.
Ruby Hill Processing
Plant
i-80 has two processing facilities, Ruby Hill and Lone Tree, and studies have been commissioned
for the start-up of both sites so that the Company can better
assess the preferred economic development scenario for the timing
and sequencing of its planned mining operations. In November of
2022 the results of a Scoping Study commissioned to provide
preliminary capital and operating cost estimates for the potential
restart of the existing Ruby Hill mill and leach circuits to
operating status, including a potential conversion to a floatation
plant for the processing of polymetallic (base metal)
mineralization.
The study was completed in to consider processing of oxide gold
and/or base metal mineralization including preliminary estimates of
the capital and operating cost required for converting the process
plant from a mill/leach facility processing oxide gold mineralized
material to a base metal flotation plant producing two concentrates
(lead/silver and zinc concentrates).
The Eureka (Ruby Hill) Mining
District has a history of high-grade polymetallic CRD production
that began in the 1860's and spanned a period of more than one
hundred years. Historic mined grades rank amongst the highest for
any CRD district in the world. Since the 1960's, the CRD
potential of the Eureka District
has been largely overlooked in favour of exploration for
Carlin-type gold deposits and the
Company considers the opportunity to be substantial.
The Ruby Hill Property is one of the Company's primary assets
and is host to the core processing infrastructure within the
Eureka District of the Battle
Mountain-Eureka Trend including an idle leach plant, an active heap
leach facility, and is host to multiple gold, gold-silver and
polymetallic (base metal) deposits.
The Company has submitted for approval its plan to develop an
underground mine at Ruby Hill with mineralization accessed via a
ramp from the Archimedes open pit. Work is also progressing for the
completion of updated mineral resource estimates (gold and
polymetallic zones) and an initial economic study for the gold
zones (only).
Please click here for further information on abbreviations and
conversions referenced in this press release.
QAQC Procedures
1Historic intercepts did not contain Ag, Pb, and Zn
standards and therefore the accuracy of the historic results is
undetermined. i-80 is in the process of completing resampling with
standards of historic core. 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 analysed using Au-AA23 (Au; 30g
fire assay; ALS) and ME-ICP61a (33 element suite; 0.4g Four
Acid/ICP-AES; ALS). Overlimit samples of Ag, Pb, and Zn are
analyzed by ore-grade methods comprising HF-HNO3-HClO4 Digest,
HCl leach and ICP-AES. Additional samples overlimit ore-grade
methods are analyzed by acid dissolution and titration. ALS also
undertakes their own internal coarse and pulp duplicate analysis to
ensure proper sample preparation and equipment calibration. i-80
Gold Corp's QA/QC program includes regular insertion of CRM
standards (gold and polymetallic), duplicates, and blanks into the
sample stream with a stringent review of all results.
Qualified Person
Tyler Hill, CPG-12146, Senior
Geologist at i-80 is the Qualified Person for the information
contained in this press release and is a Qualified Person within
the meaning of National Instrument 43-101.
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 through the development of
multiple deposits within the Company's advanced-stage property
portfolio with processing at i-80's centralized milling facility
that includes an autoclave.
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, the
expansion or mineral resources at Ruby Hill and the potential of
the Ruby Hill project. 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 labour
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.
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