i-80 Gold Corp said it has begun shipping ore from the Granite Creek mine to the Nevada Gold Mines LLC (NGM) Twin Creeks processing facility, as part of the company's toll-milling agreement negotiated alongside the acquisition of the Lone Tree property.
"This milestone is another key achievement realized by the i-80 operations team, whose hard work and focus have paved the way to make this historic event possible," Matt Gili, president & COO of i-80 Gold said in a statement.
"The goal now is to continue to advance development, ramping up mining to 450 tons per day by the end of the year and further accelerate mining in 2023 to achieve our target of 1,000 tons per day in H2-2023," he added.
READ: i-80 Gold hails underground drill results at Granite Creek project in Nevada
Given the timing of the testing of the initial ore sent to NGM under the toll-milling agreement and an initial blending program by NGM, i-80 does not expect to report ounces from Granite Creek until the fourth quarter of 2022.
The Granite Creek Property is strategically located proximal to Nevada Gold Mines' Turquoise Ridge and Twin Creeks mines at the north end of the Battle Mountain-Eureka Trend, at its intersection with the Getchell gold belt in Nevada.
High-grade mineralization occurs in a near-identical geological setting as that at the multi-million-ounce Turquoise Ridge mine located immediately to the north; proximal to a major regional fault (the Getchell or Range Front fault) on the eastern edge of the large Osgood Mountains intrusive complex.
The Granite Creek deposit remains open at depth and along strike from the existing underground workings and step-out drilling aimed at expanding resources is currently underway.
i-80 Gold is a well-financed, Nevada-focused, mining company with a goal of achieving mid-tier gold producer status through the development of multiple deposits within the company's advanced-stage property portfolio anticipated to be processed at the centrally located Lone Tree processing facility and autoclave.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com