i-80 Gold's CFO Ryan Snow on Executing the Nevada Growth Plan

0:15IA2Gold is a Nevada-focused mining company that is starting a path to becoming a mid-tier gold producer through a three-phase development plan. 200 ,000 ounces by 2028, between 300 ,000 and 400 ,000 by 2030, and about 600 ,000 by 2032. The company brought in a new leadership team in 2024 and announced a new growth plan that same year. Ryan Snow, he is Chief Financial Officer. Ryan, welcome to Mining Stock Daily. Mike, thanks for having me. I'm happy to be here today. Now, Ryan, there's kind of a lot of moving pieces with I-80. I think it would kind of help if we You went back to the origin story because I think it helps understanding the company and where it's at.

0:57Now, Richard Young, your CEO came in 2024. There was kind of a change. There was a change amongst a team that you decided in terms of what the company was doing before and charting a path afterwards. What did the team land on altogether, Ryan? Yeah, well, maybe just to go back to the beginning there. We founded the company in 2021. and our original asset was the McCoy Cove property, which is still in the portfolio today. Shortly after the formation of the company, we acquired the Granite Creek property, and then in October of 2021, we acquired both the Ruby Hill property and the Lone Tree property, making it, that gives us four properties in our portfolio.

1:39Among those four properties, we have about 14.5 million ounces of gold across measured, indicated, and inferred, And we have just under 200 million ounces of silver across the same categories. So as you mentioned, we had a new management team join us in late 2024. And with that, we took a hard look at how do we bring these assets into production and create the most value for our shareholders. That process resulted in our three-phase development plan that has us bringing the Granite Creek mine, mine, the Archimedes Underground Mine and the Lone Tree Processing Facility, into full operation in 2028, which, as you mentioned, will bring our total annual production to about 200 ,000 ounces.

2:21Then implementing phase two, we'll bring in the Cove Underground Mine and the Grand Creek Open Pit to go to approximately 400 ,000 ounces. And finally, phase three brings the Mineral Point Open Pit into the portfolio, into development, and that will take us to approximately 600 ,000 ounces of annual production by 2032. So we continue to look at how we can maximize shareholder value. And one opportunity that's been identified to us is to potentially swap phase two and phase three of our plan. This would allow us to accelerate Mineral Point, our flagship asset, and create significant value for our company and our shareholders.

3:03talk about um uh since a lot of pieces that i want to uh get to uh on that ryan but uh you mentioned it right now we'll just bring it up to the top here and then uh talk about uh how you can kind of move that production forward from the date that you have uh from 2032 yeah so i i think the key there is really around permitting so what we have at the ruby hill property we have the Archimedes underground mine, which is in construction today and plan on touching our first gold later this year. And we have the mineral point open pit. The Archimedes underground mine has been permitted to a certain depth and we're currently working on the final stages of permitting below that depth in the underground mine.

3:48Once we receive clarification on either receiving the permit or a determination of NEPA adequacy from the BLM, we can then focus our attention on permitting the mineral point open pit. So in our original plan, we put mineral point in phase three just to permitting due to permitting timing and how long we thought it would take to permit the Archimedes Underground and then subsequently permit mineral point property. There have been some developments since we put that plan out in 2024 that could potentially accelerate the permitting for that lower portion of the Archimedes Underground. And assuming positive outcome to that permitting action, we would be able to start the permitting process for Mineral Point sooner, which would allow us to bring that development plan forward for Mineral Point.

4:36Now, to be clear, what we are not going to do is develop phase two and phase three at the same time. This would very much be a swap where we bring Mineral Point forward and we push the Granite Creek Open Pit and the Cove Underground out to about the same timelines we've discussed. So the same 28, 30, 32, it would just bring Mineral Point property forward. And that's important to us because Mineral Point has approximately four and a half million ounces of gold across measured, indicated, and inferred, and about 195 million ounces of the silver we have across measured, indicated, and inferred by itself.

5:13So it's a very large asset for us, absolutely our flagship. And it's also an oxide heap leach operation. So from the gold perspective, anything we can do to bring that quantity of ounces forward at heap leach costing will be very beneficial to us and the shareholders. When do you expect that you could make an announcement on that for sure? Within weeks, within months, next year? you know, I don't have a firm timeline for that. I know that we're hoping to get some clarification and be in a position to announce that, you know, let's say in the next six months. Let's talk currently right now about your ramp up.

5:59You did have the quarterly that you put out early in August. And let's just talk about that in relation to Lone Tree. Lone Tree, of course, being the operating site, the production site, also where you have the autoclave. So you achieved 23 ,000 ounces of gold in 2025. This year, you're guiding between 30 ,000 to 40 ,000. Granite Creek is the operating mine. I believe to date that has been whole milled. You're expecting your first pour at the Lone Tree facility in late 2027. And Ryan, you can help us with this because you say in the financial disclosure that when you do make the shift to Lone Tree, you're expecting to materially increase operating margins as well as enhance free cash flow.

6:58Yeah, so our total guidance for 2026 production is 30 to 40 ,000 ounces from Granite Creek. and we have an additional 10 ,000 ounces that we've guided from the residual leaching activities at Lone Tree and Ruby Hill. So we're on track to meet that guidance, which is great. We reiterated that guidance in our Q2 disclosure. The material from Granite Creek is currently toll milled with a third party and, you know, as with any third party, you pay for the service. So this is why the processing facility of LoneTree is so critical for us in our phase one plan. And we do anticipate that when LoneTree is up and running, late 2027 going into 2028, as we process our material through our own autoclave facility, we should see somewhere between$1 ,000 and$1 ,500 an ounce in margin come back to the company as we begin processing that material ourselves.

7:53So we're really looking forward to the opportunity to process that material ourselves. It gives us great flexibility in a couple of regards. It adds that margin that we've discussed of$1 ,000 to$1 ,500 an ounce to the company's balance sheet, but it also gives us flexibility in the timing of when we process our material. Now, you noted in your second quarter that there was a decrease in revenue is due to delays from third-party processing. Is that anything that you look at being fixed or anticipate going forward? Yeah, you know, I think that that's something that, you know, we're in regular communication with our milling partner, and they are expecting to increase the processing in the third quarter, which is great news.

8:42But I'd say overall, you know, So the fact that we're beholden to a third party on when they process the material is really what's driving our desire to bring Lone Tree Autoclave into refurbishment and back into production as soon as possible. So, you know, the urgency for that for us is really that ability to control the timing of our processing, being able to ensure that we have a line of sight into, you know, upcoming downtime for routine maintenance, those kind of things. So just ensuring that we kind of control our own destiny, if you will, and we have the ability to process that material ourselves.

9:28Now you note that IAT Gold, when Lotrine is operating, it's going to be one of two gold companies in Nevada. That is an autoclave processing plant. Why is it significant? Yeah, so it's significant because in our development plan, all three of our underground mines, Granite Creek, Cove, and the Archimedes Underground, they all contain refractory material. And so that autoclave allows us to process that material from the mines and have an avenue to process kind of all of that material and beyond. And so the facility itself will allow us the potential to have the flexibility in the future, you know, as a secondary benefit, the potential in the future to look at other deposits around the state that also need refractory processing, you know, potentially toll milling other companies' material at some point.

10:27And really gives us the flexibility to unlock the value of those three underground mines in our portfolio. them. Given the importance of LoneTree for you as you kind of get to your 2027 startup date, you know, what is the, what are you mitigating right now? What is the biggest risks that you're looking forward to in terms of kind of getting this up? Yeah, I'd say first and foremost there, our project has been well thought out and de-risked to the extent possible. We are currently on track from both the cost and schedule perspective. And as of our Q2 reporting, we've committed about 50 % of our project costs to date.

11:09So I think we have a really firm grasp on the project itself and thus far we are executing. I would say that when I look at the overall project and I look at what the risks are to the project, one that sticks out to me is contractor and labor availability. And I think in this metal price environment, there's many projects moving forward. There's also data centers requiring contractors to do civil and other structural work that are moving forward as well. So it's really the confluence of events of kind of the metal price environment we're in, making more projects economic and more projects moving forward, as well as the data center drive that we're seeing kind of across the country, but definitely here in Nevada as well, that are making the demand for contractor and labor availability scarce and definitely a risk that we're monitoring.

12:07I thought I heard in another interview that you had quite a few feasibility studies that were going to be sequenced out as well too. What's the reason for those and how many do you have coming up? Yeah. So in May of last year of 2025, we published five PEAs on all of our projects in the development plan. So the three underground mines and the two open pits that we have, those are the most current technical studies on all of the properties. So none of the properties currently are in the feasibility level. So we feel it's important to advance those to feasibility. So we are working diligently on many fronts to advance those technical studies.

12:48We do have a feasibility study for the Granite Creek property that is coming out this quarter. We're also well advanced on the feasibility study for the Cove underground mine. So that should be coming out, if not this month, sometime in early Q4. And then we're also advancing feasibility studies on the Archimedes Underground, which we intend to publish mid-year next. And we're working on a pre-feasibility study for the Mineral Point Open Pit, which is also on that mid-next year timeline. Ryan, lastly, help us out then, talking about what are kind of the key messages and milestones at I-80. Again, kind of a lot of moving pieces that you have there.

13:35I think I saw your CEO talking about it, though. Essentially, a simple story just along the lines of how it's the hub-and-spoke model against Butlone Tree. But talking about what you think would be kind of the most important milestones or what's going to be the most important steps in terms of you getting to the mid-tier producer, what would you want to point to or what would you want to highlight to investors? Yeah, I think first and foremost, when we look at the milestones coming up, it's important to look at them in the backdrop of the valuation of the company. So if I were to look at the current market cap of the company and compare that to the value in those five PEAs I mentioned that we published last year, there's a compelling appreciation potential for our stock.

14:24and as we execute on our plan, we should see our stock begin to approach the valuation that's in those PEA models. I'd say there's definitely some catalysts in the near term that we can look forward to inflection points, if you will, for that. And I'd say first and foremost, it's probably the first gold coming from the Archimedes Underground, which we expect to happen in the fourth quarter of this year. We started construction on that mine September of last year, so just over a year ago, or just under a year ago. But we're right about to touch first gold in the next quarter here at Archimedes Underground.

15:08And then after that, I'd say it's the construction commencing at the autoclave. I think that's a pretty key milestone for us. We have started and are advanced in the demolition phase of what needs to be taken out of that autoclave facility, but starting the actual construction itself, which is anticipated for the fourth quarter of this year, is definitely a milestone I would point to. Kind of piggybacking on that, that first gold pour that comes from Lone Tree in the fourth quarter of 2027 is definitely a key milestone to be on the lookout for. I'd say after that, it's really those technical studies that we just walked through, So that the feasibility study on Granite Creek, which is coming out this quarter, the feasibility study on Cove, the feasibility study at the Archimedes Underground mid next year.

15:54And then finally, that pre-feasibility on Mineral Point in the middle of next year as well. Ryan, thanks for speaking with Mining Stock Daily. Absolutely. Thank you for having me.

16:09Ryan Snow: The information presented should not be considered investment advice. Mining Stock Daily Yance affiliates are not responsible for any loss arising from any investment decision in connection with the material presented herein. Please do your own research or speak with a licensed financial representative before making any investment decisions.