i-80 Gold announced that the Mineral Point gold project in northern Nevada, US, will require a total capital and closure expenditure (capex) of $1.4bn, based on the findings of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA).
The total costs include construction capital of $707.5m, capitalised stripping costs of $287.3m, sustaining capital of $388.4m, and reclamation and surety costs of $69.8m.
The Mineral Point project is located within the company’s broader Ruby Hill complex along the southeastern end of the Battle Mountain-Eureka gold trend.
The assessment contains all drilling conducted by the previous owners up to 2021, when i-80 Gold acquired the property.
It incorporates a two-stage crushing process for material placed on the heap leach and includes a Merrill-Crowe plant to account for the silver present in the deposit.
The Mineral Point gold project is designed as an open-pit heap leach operation and serves as an extension of the historically mined Archimedes open pit, which was a significant past-producing asset.
It hosts a large oxide gold and silver deposit, along with multiple base metal deposits. In addition, the project is said to have the potential to become the company’s largest gold-producing asset.
According to the PEA, the Mineral Point project has a mine life of approximately 17 years, with an average annual gold-equivalent production of around 280,000 ounces following ramp-up.
Mining operations will follow a conventional open-pit method, utilising a fleet of 24 trucks and four shovels. Steady-state production will involve an estimated annual material movement of approximately 100 million tonnes.
i-80 Gold CEO Richard Young said: “A key driver of future growth, Mineral Point is the largest of our two planned oxide projects complementing our three high-grade underground mines in northern Nevada.
“With significant production scale, a long mine life, and low costs, Mineral Point is expected to be the flagship project within our portfolio.”
The PEA projects a post-tax net present value (NPV) of $614m for the American gold project. It also estimates an after-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 12%.
In addition, the study reveals that the Mineral Point gold project will generate an estimated $1.47bn in after-tax cash flow over its mine life.
i-80 Gold aims to complete an updated mineral resource estimate by 2029 for inclusion in its planned feasibility study.
The update will incorporate 50,000 metres of drilling to obtain additional sample material for metallurgical testing, refine resource classification, and assess potential expansion.
The feasibility study is expected to be completed alongside the permitting process.
