i-80 Gold (TSE:IAU) executives used the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results call to highlight progress on production ramp-up at Granite Creek, the start of construction at a second underground mine, and a recapitalization package management described as transformative for advancing its multi-asset development plan.
2025 production and operations update
President and CEO Richard Young said the company met its 2025 production guidance, with consolidated gold output of “just under 32,000 ounces.” Young noted production would have landed at the higher end of guidance if not for an inventory build at year-end tied to third-party processing timing.
At Granite Creek Underground, Chawrun said ramp-up continued due to reduced water-related impacts, adjustments to mine sequencing, and identification of additional high-grade areas through short-term drilling not included in the original resource model. He detailed mined tonnage and grades for both the quarter and full year, and said total gold production at Granite Creek was 3,600 ounces for the quarter and 23,000 ounces for the year, referring to gold available for sale at the third-party processing facility.
Chawrun and CFO Ryan Snow both pointed to processing delays as a key contributor to inventory build. Chawrun said the sulfide stockpile was higher than expected, estimated at 6,500 ounces of recovered gold, and management expects to process this material in the first quarter of 2026. Snow added that the company’s third-party processing agreement allows up to 120 days for delivered material to be processed, which can create timing differences between mining, production, and sales. He also noted the company’s high-grade oxide material is subject to a 59% payability factor, which reduces gold sold relative to contained ounces produced.
On water management at Granite Creek, Chawrun said inflows remained stable and that an upgraded pumping system commissioned in the third quarter enabled effective mitigation in active mining areas. He said a second, larger water treatment plant began construction in December and is expected to start operating by the end of the second quarter of 2026, with the goal of ultimately discharging water away from underground workings.
Project development: Archimedes, Mineral Point, Cove, and Granite Creek
Chawrun said construction of the Archimedes underground project at Ruby Hill began in early September, with underground development reaching approximately 680 meters by year-end and advancing ahead of expectations. The company’s near-term focus is advancing toward an exploration drift to support feasibility-level technical work, with initial mineralization expected to be intercepted in the third quarter. He said a $25 million to $30 million drilling program is planned for Archimedes in 2026, forming the basis of a feasibility study targeted for the first quarter of 2027, which he said is about one year earlier than indicated in the project’s preliminary economic assessment (PEA).
At Mineral Point, also on the Ruby Hill property, Chawrun said technical work continues to support permitting and to define timing for a pre-feasibility or feasibility study. The company completed about 8,600 meters of surface core drilling in 2025 for baseline geotechnical, metallurgical, and hydrogeology studies. For 2026, management outlined a substantially larger program: $40 million to $45 million for drilling targeting roughly 131,000 meters, plus an additional $5 million for permitting and technical work. Chawrun called Mineral Point the company’s largest gold and silver resource and said it has the potential to become the company’s largest gold-producing asset.
Young later told analysts that, in management’s view, Mineral Point is the most valuable asset in the portfolio and that the company intends to use its increased financial flexibility to accelerate drilling, technical work, and permitting, potentially moving development “ahead of the original schedule” in the development plan.
At Cove, Chawrun said the feasibility study is nearly complete, but additional work is required to revise the mine plan and cut-off grades using updated gold price estimates, and to evaluate capital reduction and design optimization opportunities tied to dewatering. Those factors pushed completion into early second quarter. He said permit applications are underway as part of an environmental impact statement (EIS) process.
For Granite Creek Open Pit, Chawrun said trade-off analyses are being conducted to optimize economics. He said geotechnical drilling was deferred in 2025 due to ongoing operating permit updates for Granite Creek Underground on the same property, pushing the start of drilling into 2026 and leaving the timeline under review.
Lone Tree refurbishment: board approval and cost drivers
Management repeatedly described the Lone Tree process plant refurbishment as central to i-80 Gold’s “hub and spoke” strategy, intended to process material from Granite Creek, Archimedes, and Cove. Young said the board approved a notice to proceed to Hatch for the full Lone Tree refurbishment. Chawrun said a Class 3 engineering study was completed during the fourth quarter and that work with Hatch is progressing to support a first gold pour in December 2027. He said primary environmental permit applications are expected to be submitted in the first quarter of 2026, while the plant will require updated permits for air quality, water pollution, mercury emissions, and reclamation management under the new design.
In response to a question about why the refurbishment is costly, Young said the autoclave vessel requires re-bricking, and added that the carbon-in-leach (CIL) tanks need replacement. He also cited new off-gas vessels, a filtration system shift to “filtered tails and stacked facilities,” and upgrades to instrumentation. Young said those components, combined with current capital cost conditions, total about $430 million.
Financial results and inventory timing effects
Snow said gold sales for 2025 increased to about 28,200 ounces from 21,500 ounces in the prior year, driven by advancements at Granite Creek but partially offset by the processing lag that left more sulfide material in inventory at year-end. Revenue from gold sales increased to approximately $95 million, up from $50 million a year earlier, which Snow attributed to selling roughly 6,700 more ounces at an approximately $1,000-per-ounce higher realized price.
Gross profit improved to $11.5 million for the year from a gross loss of $15.7 million in 2024, which Snow said reflected Granite Creek turning gross-profit positive in the second half of 2025. The company posted a net loss of just under $200 million, or $0.10 per share, and an adjusted loss of $123 million compared with $111 million the prior year. Snow said the difference between net and adjusted loss included non-cash fair value revaluation losses tied mainly to higher metals prices and the company’s share price, as well as a non-cash write-down at Lone Tree for assets deemed obsolete under the updated refurbishment estimate.
The company ended the quarter with about $63 million in cash. Snow said the cash balance declined from the prior quarter due to higher finished goods and stockpile inventories at year-end, continued drilling investment, development spending at Archimedes and Granite Creek, and early-stage work under a limited notice to proceed at Lone Tree.
Recapitalization and 2026 outlook
Snow outlined a financing package of up to $500 million, including a $250 million royalty commitment letter with Franco-Nevada and a gold prepayment facility of up to $250 million with National Bank of Canada and Macquarie. He said the Franco-Nevada deal involves a 1.5% life-of-mine net smelter return royalty stepping up to 3% on Jan. 1, 2031, applying across the company’s portfolio. At closing, $225 million would be available, with $25 million required to be allocated to Mineral Point in 2026, plus an additional $25 million expected in 2026 after the initial amount is spent.
Snow said the gold prepayment facility includes an initial $150 million advance at closing and an obligation to deliver about 40,000 ounces over a 30-month period beginning January 2028, plus an accordion feature for an additional $100 million subject to conditions and lender approval. He said total ounces delivered under the full facility are expected to represent less than 15% of projected gold output from January 2028 through June 2030.
Management also said the financing package, combined with equity offerings completed in the second quarter of 2025, represents more than $800 million in funding assuming full warrant exercise. Snow said the company expects the final steps of its recapitalization plan—targeting $900 million to $1 billion total—to be completed by the end of the first quarter, and that the company has issued a notice to redeem its existing convertible debentures, expected to be extinguished March 16.
Looking ahead, Young said the company expects to publish feasibility studies for its three high-grade underground projects over the next 12 to 18 months, alongside a likely pre-feasibility study for Mineral Point and potentially a study for the Granite Creek open pit. He also told analysts the company’s sulfide toll milling charge is about $275 to $280 per ton, and said additional cost detail is expected once technical reports are filed in the second quarter.
About i-80 Gold (TSE:IAU)
i-80 Gold Corp. is a Nevada-focused, mining company with a goal of achieving mid-tier gold producer status through the development of four new open pit and underground mining operations that will ultimately process ore at the Company’s central Lone Tree complex that includes an Autoclave. The Company’s primary goal is to build a self-sustaining, mid-tier, mining company with a peer-best growth platform by employing a methodical, capital disciplined and staged approach to minimize risk while also assessing and monitoring for accretive growth opportunities.
