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I-80 Gold triples Granite Creek resources but feasibility study lifts costs

The new feasibility study sets after-tax NPV at $118 million at $2,750 gold, with life-of-mine all-in sustaining costs rising 42% to $2,273 per ounce.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Mining

I-80 Gold outlined a larger resource and longer mine life for its Granite Creek underground gold mine in Nevada, but said a new feasibility study also points to sharply higher costs than a prior preliminary assessment, Mining.com reported. Under the feasibility study, Granite Creek is pegged to an after-tax net present value of $118 million at a base-case gold price of $2,750 per ounce. Life-of-mine all-in sustaining costs rise 42% to $2,273 per ounce, the company said, while initial reserves are set at 556,500 ounces and measured and indicated resources increase 229% to 859,500 ounces. The study also “de-risks” Granite Creek’s role as a long-term source of high-grade feed for i-80’s Lone Tree operation, while preserving exploration upside through South Pacific extensions and the CX Zone, according to a note cited by Mining.com from National Bank of Canada Capital Markets analyst Don DeMarco. DeMarco said base-case economics remain modest, with the economics weighed down by elevated costs. Granite Creek is described as a central part of i-80’s plan to grow from about 50,000 ounces of annual production into a mid-tier Nevada producer. Mining.com added that i-80 secured a $500 million financing package in February to fund early development stages targeting roughly 300,000 to 400,000 ounces annually before aiming for about 600,000 ounces, and noted that the new study increases total capital and closure costs to $145 million from $112 million in the PEA.

Latest closeGold $4,348.00 ▼0.7%

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