Richard Young named CEO at i-80 Gold, shares rally

i-80 Gold Corp. [IAU-TSXV] has named Richard Young as CEO and a director, effective immediately. He succeeds Ewan Downie following his retirement from the CEO position. The appointment completes the previously announced succession process as Downie will also step down as a director, but will continue to act as an advisor to the company.

i-80 Gold shares rallied on the news, rising 5.5% or $0.08 to $1.54. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $2.55 and $1.05.

I-80 Gold is a Nevada-focused mining company which aims to achieve 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 facilities.

The company said Young brings strong experience in Nevada, including operational experience with Barrick Gold Corp. [ABX-TSX, GOLD-NYSE] and its Goldstrike mine, one of the largest gold mines in North America. Young was founder and CEO of Teranga Gold Corp., where he played a key role in its transformation from a single asset producer into a successful low-cost, mid-tier gold producer that was ultimately acquired by Endeavour Mining Plc in 2021 for over $2.5 billion. Most recently he served as President and CEO of Argonaut Gold, which was acquired by Alamos Gold Inc. [AGI-TSX, NYSE] in July, 2024.

Back in April, 2024, i-80 was in the news when it raised $85.6 million from a bought deal offering of units, with proceeds earmarked for development of the company’s properties in Nevada.

In 2023, the company reported gold sales of 14,613 ounces at a realized price of US$1,940 per ounce, including 3,350 ounces in the fourth quarter.

i-80 holds a 100% interest in the Lone Tree property, which is located in the Battle Mountain Trend. Lone Tree is a past-producing mine with historic production of 4.2 million ounces of gold. It is also host to substantial processing infrastructure, including a whole-ore autoclave, leach pad and CIC circuit, and flotation circuit. It is expected that the Lone Tree Complex will become the hub of i-80’s Nevada operations and the central processing facility for mineralization from the Granite Creek, McCoy-Cove and Ruby Hill underground gold deposits. Infrastructure at Lone Tree has enabled i-80 to position itself as one of only three companies in the U.S. that are capable of processing both oxide and refractory mineralization.

The Ruby Hill property hosts an open pit mine and multiple deposits that contain substantial gold and silver resources and the potential for significant base metal mineralization. Processing infrastructure at Ruby Hill includes a gold oxide processing plant, leach pad and CIC circuit. The company has said it is advancing permitting for an underground mine to be constructed from the current pit.