i-80 Gold unveils new CRD discoveries in Nevada

i-80 Gold Corp. [IAU-TSXV] on Tuesday announced new high-grade carbon replacement deposit-type (CRD) discoveries at its 100%-owned Ruby Hill project in Eureka County, Nevada.

The company said drilling has discovered new lenses of high-grade polymetallic CRD-type and skarn mineralization along the project’s Hilltop fault structure and continues to expand mineralization at the project’s Hilltop zones.

Highlight results from the initial 2023 drilling at Ruby Hill include 3.4 g/t gold, 11.1 g/t silver and 6.7% zinc and over 18.3 metres (Lower Hilltop Zone), 9.9 g/t gold over 5.8 metres (Ruby Deeps Zone) and 9.2% zinc and 0.1% copper over 3.1 metres (Geddes Zone Discovery).

“Our 2023 drill program has picked up where we left off in 2022, expanding high-grade mineralization in several zones and resulting in multiple new discoveries,’’ said i-80 Chief Geologist Tyler Hill.

“These results confirm a substantial mineralized system that remains open for expansion making us optimistic of further discoveries as several or our property targets remain to be tested,’’ he said.

i-80 Gold shares eased 2.1% or $0.07 to $3.23 in early trading Tuesday. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of $4.22 and $1.97.

i-80 recently agreed to acquire Paycore Minerals Inc. in a deal that aimed to consolidate mining assets in the northern portion of Nevada’s Eureka District.

Paycore’s flagship asset was a 100% interest in the FAD project, which is located in the Ruby Hill Mining District, a region with a history of high-grade CRD production that began in the 1860s and spanned a period of more than 100 years.

The FAD deposit is located immediately south of and adjoins i-80’s 100% owned Ruby Hill property. As a result, the deal was expected to strengthen i-80’s dominant presence in the district by increasing the size of the land package at Ruby Hill by more than 34% to approximately 14,272 acres, providing i-80 with enhanced exposure to one of the world’s premier emerging CRD districts.

i-80 continues to own and operate a portfolio of mining assets, including Lone Tree, Ruby Hill, Granite Creek and McCoy Cove plus 100% of the FAD property.

The company recently completed initial gold sales from residual heap leach operations at its Lone Tree and Ruby Hill mines.

i-80 Gold has been in the process of developing multiple mining operations to achieve its objective of building a Nevada-focused mining company with a goal of ultimately producing more than 500,000 ounces of gold annually.

Importantly, the company has secured the ability to process all types of gold mineralization, including refractory gold-bearing mineralization, through the acquisition of the Lone Tree processing complex and also through interim processing arrangements with Nevada Gold Mines (a joint venture owned by Barrick Gold Corp. [ABX-TSX, GOLD-NYSE], Newmont Corp., [NGT-TSX, NEM-NYSE]), that provide the company with the flexibility to process material from any of the three planned underground operations until the Lone Tree autoclave is restarted.

Processing of refractory mineralization remains one of the biggest barriers to entry in Nevada and i-80 is currently one of only three companies with this capability.