i-80 Gold closes US$250 million Franco-Nevada financing

i-80 Gold Corp. [IAU-TSX] said it has closed a US$250 million royalty financing with Franco-Nevada Mining Corp. [FNV-TSX, NYSE].  The company said it used a portion of the proceeds to complete the mandatory redemption of its 8.0% secured convertible debentures due in 2027 and to settle a convertible loan and gold prepayment agreement held by affiliates of Orion Mine Finance.

“Together, these transactions represent a major step forward in the company’s recapitalization, significantly strengthening the balance sheet and positioning i-80 Gold to continue advancing its development plan towards becoming a mid-tier gold producer in Nevada,’’ said i-80 President and CEO Richard Young.

i-80 Gold shares advanced on the news, rising 1.7% or $0.04 to $2.31. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $3.04 and 67 cents.

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 multi-stage property portfolio. Leveraging its central processing facility, following an anticipated refurbishment, the company is executing a hub-and-spoke regional mining and processing strategy to maximize efficiency and growth.

In 2025, the company focused on advancing its three-phased development plan. Phase one includes the ramp up of the Granite Creek underground mine, the construction of the Archimedes underground mine and the refurbishment of the company’s Lone Tree Plant, the central processing facility.  This phase is expected to increase i-80’s gold production to between 150,000 and 200,000 ounces from under 50,000 ounces currently.

Phase two involves the development of the Cove underground project and the Granite Creek open pit, boosting company wide production to up to 400,000 ounces of gold. Phase three is expected to bring the Mineral Point, a large open pit heap leach project into production, raising production levels to over 600,000 ounces.

Under the terms of the royalty financing, Franco-Nevada is paying US$250 million to the company in exchange for a 1.5% life-of-mine net smelter return royalty (NSR), stepping up to a 3.0% LOM net NSR on January 1, 2031. The royalty payable to Franco-Nevada applies to production from all mineral properties in the i-80 portfolio. At closing, US$225 million was advanced with approximately US$165 million used to extinguish legacy debt obligations, with the remainder earmarked to advance the Mineral Point open pit oxide project and construction of the Archidmedes underground project. In total, US$50 million in royalty financing is dedicated to advancing Mineral Point infill drilling, engineering and early-stage permitting in 2026, supporting a pre-feasibility study anticipated for completion in 2027. The remaining US$25 million is payable following the expenditure of an initial US$25 million allocated for Mineral Point, which is expected to be available later this year.