i-80 Gold drills 14.8 g/t gold over 12.3 metres at Ruby Hill, Nevada

i-80 Gold Corp. [IAU-TSX; IAUX-NYSE] has discovered a new gold horizon, the 007 zone, and additional high-grade drill results continue to demonstrate the potential to expand mineralization in the Ruby Deeps deposit at the 100%-owned Ruby Hill property in Eureka County, Nevada.

Owing to the substantial success of the 2022 program, drilling has been expanded to include more than 30,000 metres of drilling, focused on defining and expanding gold mineralization in the primary zones while also testing several high-potential targets on the Property including the recent Hilltop discovery. Continued results confirm substantial expansion potential at the Ruby Deeps deposit, and has discovered new high-grade mineralization in the 007 and Blue Sky exploration targets

Ruby Deeps deposit

The Ruby Deeps deposit is the primary target of the 2022 drill program with new results demonstrating excellent continuity of mineralization, impressive widths and grades, often in excess of 10 g/t gold, and favourable ground conditions. Hole iRH22-13 expands mineralization in the Ruby Deeps 125 metres to the northeast.

Highlight results from drilling in the Ruby Deeps and 426 Deeps horizons include drill hole iRH22-12 that returned 13.5 g/t gold over 11.4 metres (0.39 oz/ton – 37.5 ft). iRH22-13 returned  13.4 g/t gold over 6.1 metres (0.39 oz/ton – 20.0 ft).

iRH22-14 returned 14.8 g/t gold over 12.3 metres (0.43 oz/ton – 40.2 ft). iRH22-16 returned 10.8 g/t gold over 7.6 metres (0.32 oz/ton – 25.0 ft). iRH22-20 returned 11.8 g/t gold over 18.3 metres (0.34 oz/ton – 60.0 ft) and 11.9 g/t gold over 16.8 metres (0.35 oz/ton – 55.0 ft).

The Ruby Deeps deposit is comprised of the 426 Zone, the upper part of the deposit interpreted to consist of more vertical mineralization hosted within or proximal to the northeast striking 426 fault structure, and the deeper Ruby Deeps Zone, a flat-lying, north-south striking, sulphide zone located in the hanging wall of the Holly and 150 fault structures. Both zones remain open for expansion.

New Discovery – 007 Zone: A new zone of high-grade gold mineralization was discovered when testing the Graveyard Flats fault structure located in close proximity to the 426 Zone. The first hole to test this structure intersected what appears to be oxide mineralization and multiple follow-up holes have been drilled to follow up this discovery with assays pending.

Highlight results from hole iRH22-18 include 10.5 g/t gold over 11.1 metres (0.31 oz/ton – 36.5 ft).

New Discovery – Blue Sky Target: Hole iRH22-17 is the first hole testing the Blue Sky target located approximately 600 metres northeast of the northern extent of the Ruby Deeps and returned multiple significant intervals of low to moderate grade mineralization accompanied by strong alteration, similar to what is observed in the Ruby Deeps deposit, including 1.4 g/t gold over 35.1 metres and 7.7 g/t gold over 3.0 metres.

“Step-out drilling in the 426 and Ruby Deeps Zones continue to confirm our belief that Ruby Hill has excellent potential to host a world-class, Carlin-type, gold deposit,” stated Ewan Downie, CEO. “Generative exploration drilling has now resulted in multiple new discoveries including at the 007, Hilltop and Blue Sky targets with extensive alteration and mineralization, further demonstrating a system comparable to several of Nevada’s most productive gold districts.”

The ongoing infill and step-out drill program will aid in the advancement of the company’s plan to develop an underground mine at Ruby Hill, accessed via ramp from the Archimedes open pit. Infill drilling is being completed for initial mine planning and to upgrade resources for the completion of an economic study. Step-out drilling is also being completed with a focus on expanding mineralization in advance of completing a revised resource estimate at year-end. The current program at Ruby Hill is one of several ongoing and planned drill programs in 2022 that combined are expected to comprise in excess of 50,000 metres.

It is expected that refractory mineralization mined from the underground operation at Ruby Hill will be trucked to the company’s Lone Tree facility once its operational and oxide mineralization can be processed on-site at the existing heap leach pad, or at the existing leach plant. The Ruby Hill Property is one of the company’s primary assets and is host to the core infrastructure within the Eureka District of the Battle Mountain-Eureka Trend. The Property is host to multiple gold, gold-silver and polymetallic (base metal) deposits.