i-80 Gold Reports Q1 2026 Results: Full Earnings Call Transcript

i-80 Gold (AMEX:IAUX) released first-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Wednesday. Read the complete transcript below.

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View the webcast at https://app.webinar.net/YWEQaPqn3wA

Summary

I-80 Gold Corp reported a strong start to 2026, highlighting the completion of a $1 billion recapitalization that secures funding for phase one and two of their development strategy, including refurbishing the Lone Tree processing facility and developing new projects.

Record quarterly revenue and gross profit were achieved, driven by increased gold production and sales, despite a few operational setbacks like the transformer failure at Granite Creek.

The company initiated its largest drilling program to date to support upcoming feasibility and pre-feasibility studies, aiming to significantly increase gold production by 2028 and complete multiple key projects within the next few years.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Hello and thank you for joining I-80 Gold Corp's 2026 First Quarter Results Conference call and webcast. Today's company presenters include Richard Young, President and Chief Executive Officer of I-80 Gold Corp, Paul Charun, COO and Ryan Snow, CFO. Before we continue, please note that today's comments may contain forward looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially. I ask everyone to refer to slide 2 of the presentation which is available on I-80 Gold Corp's website to view the cautionary notes regarding the forward looking statements made on this call and the risk factors related to these statements. All amounts are in US Dollars unless otherwise stated. Following today's format presentation, we will open the call to your questions. I'll now hand the call over to Richard.

Richard Young (President and Chief Executive Officer)

Well thank you Vincent and hello and thank you for joining today's call. Starting with slide three, we're off to a strong start in 2026 advancing our growth strategy to create a Nevada based mid tier gold producer. We are pleased to now have the recapitalization behind us as we completed the recapitalization in the first quarter, a task that took about 12 months to complete. Through a series of financing transactions we've secured over $1 billion providing funding certainty, paying off legacy debt and de risking our development plan. With the recapitalization complete, we believe we are now fully funded to advance phase one and phase two of our development plan which currently include the refurbishment and commissioning of our centralized Lone Tree processing facility, development of three underground projects to feed Lone Tree as part of our hub and spoke strategy, as well as developing one of our two large open pit bauxite projects. This growth pipeline is rare for a development company of our size. Phase one and two are expected to generate sufficient free cash flow to fund phase three which currently includes the development of Mineral Point, a large oxide open pit which is actually the largest project within our portfolio. During the quarter we made excellent progress advancing all three phases of our development plan, achieved record quarterly revenue and gross profit as we finally put the water issue behind us at Granite Creek and Paul will speak about that shortly. Advance construction of our second underground mine on budget and on schedule Receive board approval for the Lone Tree plant refurbishment following completion of the recapitalization. This all puts us on track to complete phase one of our development plan to increase gold production from about 50,000 ounces this year to between 150 and 200,000 ounces per year by 2028. We've also initiated the largest drill program in our company's history for resource and reserve development in support of feasibility and pre feasibility studies due next year. Our recapitalization repositions the company as the focus shifts now from a weak balance sheet to the value of our asset base and execution, IAD is better positioned today than at any point in our company's history. I'll turn it now over to Paul for a look at each project.

Paul Charun (Chief Operating Officer)

Paul thanks Richard and hello everybody. Let's begin with phase one projects starting with Granite Creek Underground on slide four. Overall waste development is on plan with continually improved advancement rates and water issues now under control as long term solutions are being implemented this quarter. Total material mined increased year over year to approximately 31,400 tons, including higher sulfide tons mined at a gold grade of just over 6.2 grams per tonne and slightly less oxide tonnes mined at a grade of about 8.9 grams per tonne, supporting stronger overall operating performance. At Granite Creek, gold production from granite more than tripled to nearly 8,900 ounces driven by the transition to sulfide processing from the toll mill agreement established in March of 2025 and improved underground development rates due to the timing of third party sales. Approximately 8,800 ounces were sold, ending the quarter with a sulfide stockpile of over 4,000 ounces of recoverable gold which we expect to process in the second quarter. Development in the main decline and access ramps progressed according to plan during the first quarter with recent rates in the past two months exceeding the plan. The higher rates are expected to be maintained resulting in the ability to continually improve access to the desired amount of active mining phases through Q2 and beyond, which is expected to result in continued improvement in the operations and production rates. We feel confident that the water issue is largely behind us with mine water inflows being well managed and unchanged from the fourth quarter. Commissioning of the second water treatment plant remains on track for June, which is the long term solution to eventually lower the water table below the underground workings. The team has done an excellent job managing water at Granite Creek since the first quarter of last year and we don't expect this to be an impediment to our operations in the future. Operations were impacted by the failure of a main transformer which resulted in nearly one week of power loss to the underground in January and impacted development rates for about three weeks due to limited power underground. The team responded quickly by installing temporary infrastructure with permanent replacement infrastructure installed by the end of the quarter with minimal overall impact on the operations.

Paul Charun (Chief Operating Officer)

Granite Creek Underground is now in a position where we can begin to execute on opportunities to optimize the mine plan. Moving to Slide 5 for a brief look at Granite Creek drilling. Infill and step out drilling continued completing just over 1900 meters of core drilling across the property during the quarter assay. Results released on January 20th demonstrated high grade mineralization throughout the South Pacific zone, supporting expansion potential to the north and at depth, while follow up drilling advanced beyond the current structural boundaries into a new untested area to potentially expand the mineralized envelope.

Paul Charun (Chief Operating Officer)

The underground drill program remained focused on additional infill drilling to support resource conversion and mine planning, while surface drilling targeted northerly step out holes on the South Pacific zone and the Range front fault to test potential for resource expansion. The feasibility study is expected to be completed late this quarter with an updated mineral resource estimate incorporating drilling data from the past three years. We remain encouraged by both near and long term opportunities at Granite Creek underground. Turning now to slide 6 construction at Archimedes continues to advance ahead of schedule with production expected to commence in Q4 and ramp up through 2027. During the first quarter, development progressed to approximately 660 meters or 2,165ft, which translates to over 20ft per day supported by favorable ground conditions ahead of the Preliminary Economic Assessment rate. The exploration drift needed for feasibility study was initiated and costs remain in line with budget and Preliminary Economic Assessment expectations.

Paul Charun (Chief Operating Officer)

Second quarter priorities include continued advancement of the exploration drift and mobilization of the underground drilling fleet for deeper drilling of Lower Archimedes in preparation for the feasibility study. Completion of key infrastructure projects such as initial ventilation raises power supply and preparation for gold production is ongoing in Q2 as well. These activities support our target to achieve first gold from upper Archimedes by the end of this year.

Paul Charun (Chief Operating Officer)

In support of permitting and the eventual mining of Lower Archimedes, we continue to advance groundwater and geochemical studies in the quarter. Turning to Slide 7 the planned program for drilling in Upper Archimedes was completed during the quarter on schedule. More than 7,500 meters across 35 holes of infill drilling was completed to better define the 426 zone to approximately 75 foot spacing. Assay results released on April 8th returned strong high grade intercepts, further increasing our confidence in the scale, continuity and quality of mineralization within Upper Archimedes.

Paul Charun (Chief Operating Officer)

Importantly, the mineralized envelope also appears to have expanded, supported by an improved understanding of the oxide sulfide transition boundary and the potential to extend mineralization beyond the current Preliminary Economic Assessment resource limits. This emerging oxide opportunity at Upper Archimedes has the potential to provide meaningful low cost near term ounces of with the metallurgical test work and geological modeling of the oxide boundary currently underway. At the same time, an infill drilling program for additional resource delineation of lower Archimedes has begun which will continue to ramp up with additional rigs throughout the quarter. Together, these programs are expected to support an updated geological model and new mine plan for the Archimedes Underground Feasibility Study which remains on track for completion in the first quarter 2027. However, pending the potential expansion of the current drill program looking at slide 8, the lone tree plant refurbishment is off to a good start following a positive construction decision in February.

Paul Charun (Chief Operating Officer)

As we indicated previously, we were able to maintain the project schedule by providing Hatch with a limited notice last Aug. To progress on critical path procurement and engineering. The project is on plan for the first gold pour by the end of 2027 with costs tracking the December 2025 capital estimate of 430 million including capital spares and 12% contingency. The owner's team is now fully staffed and continues to work closely with the hatch project team.

Paul Charun (Chief Operating Officer)

Second quarter priorities are focused on mobilizing the hatch construction team and pre construction readiness followed by demolition and on site early works while continuing with detailed engineering and procurement. Project commitments totaled approximately $31 million at the end of the quarter with plans to reach 50% committed by mid year and near 100% by the fall when construction is expected to commence. The Lone Tree Autoclave and CIL processing facility is central to our hub and spoke strategy and is expected to unlock transformational value once recommissioned.

Paul Charun (Chief Operating Officer)

Moving to slide 9 to discuss phase 2 projects which are advancing through various stages of technical study. HOVE is currently our third planned underground mine and in the final stage of a feasibility study which is expected to be completed in the second quarter. Additional work is ongoing to revise the mine plan, sequence optimization and cutoff grades with updated gold price assumptions and evaluate opportunities to optimize capital costs and engineering design options related to the dewatering program.

Paul Charun (Chief Operating Officer)

National Environmental Policy Act activities and permit submittals have been underway with the Bureau of Land Management in anticipation of an environmental impact statement at Granite Creek Open Pit. The technical work and trade off analyses are being conducted aimed at optimizing project economics and advance the project towards pre feasibility. Early stage pre permitting activities and the development of the scope for a technical site investigation is ongoing with baseline field studies planned to begin in 2027 in support of the National Environmental Policy Act process and in preparation for National Environmental Impact Statement moving to

Paul Charun (Chief Operating Officer)

the Mineral Point project on slide 10 which currently sits in phase 3 of the development plan. If you recall, the current mineral resource estimate is 3.3 million ounces of indicated gold and 2.1 million ounces of inferred gold and 104 million ounces indicated of silver and 91 million ounces of inferred silver. This represents our largest value asset. A substantial drilling campaign was initiated during the first quarter targeting approximately 131,000 meters to support resource conversion and a pre feasibility study planned for completion in 2027.

Paul Charun (Chief Operating Officer)

Four drill rigs are currently on site with three additional rigs expected to start this month. The drilling program is designed to infill the currently classified inferred resources, to indicate its status, to test opportunities to add resources through step out drilling beneath the existing heap leach pad and to support geotechnical and metallurgical studies for the pre feasibility study. Under the Franco Nevada Royalty financing completed in the first quarter, $50 million has been allocated to advanced resource expansion, infill drilling and technical work and early stage permitting activities at Mineral Point this year.

Paul Charun (Chief Operating Officer)

Given the value proposition of Mineral Point, we continue to assess opportunities to optimize the sequencing of projects within phase two and phase three of the development plan and with that I will now turn the call over to Ryan for a financial review.

Ryan Snow (Chief Financial Officer)

Thank you Paul. Turning to slide 11, I'm pleased to report that our balance sheet is the strongest it has ever been. This is supported by the successful completion of our recapitalization, stronger operations and higher realized gold prices. In March we completed several financing transactions in support of the recapitalization plan for total proceeds funded and committed of over 1 billion since May of 2025. This included a net smelter return royalty for $250 million with Franco Nevada of which 225 million was received on closing, with the remaining 25 million expected later this year.

Ryan Snow (Chief Financial Officer)

A gold prepayment facility with national bank and Macquarie bank for up to 250 million, of which 150 million was funded on closing and includes $100 million accordion option. We anticipate drawing in the first half of 2027. Finally, an offering of 3.75 percent unsecured convertible senior notes due 2031 which was well oversubscribed and closed for an upsized aggregate amount of 287.5 million. Proceeds from the Franco Nevada Royalty were used to redeem our legacy debt obligations such as convertible debentures, the Orion Gold prepay and the Orion Convertible in the amount of approximately 167 million. We ended the quarter with a significantly higher cash balance of approximately 514 million as a result of the recapitalization when compared to the prior year period. This was partially offset by higher capital expenditures compared to the prior year period related to the start of the Lone Tree Plant refurbishment as well as the settlement of the legacy debt. Further, we continue receiving some of the anticipated cash proceeds from the November 2027 warrants with 13.6 million warrants exercised during the quarter. At quarter end, a total of 159 million warrants were outstanding of the original 185.5 million moving to slide 12 company wide gold production and gold sales for the quarter increased to approximately 10,800 and 10,600 ounces respectively compared to 5,200 and 5,000 ounces in the prior year period. The sulfide stockpile currently sits at over 4,000 recovered ounces of mineralized material in inventory which we expect to process in the second quarter. A reminder that when reconciling tons mined gold produced and gold sold, there are two factors to keep in mind. First, there's often a timing lag between mining and production and sales recognition when using a third party processor and our agreement allows for up to 120 days for delivered material to be processed. Second, the high grade oxide material is subject to a 57% payability factor which impacts gold sold relative to contained ounces produced. We effectively forego 43% of the contained ounces per ounce sold. Total revenue increased to just over 52 million for the first quarter compared to 14 million in the prior year period due to more than double the gold ounces sold and this is mainly due to the fact that the toll processing agreement was finalized in March of 2025 and an increase in the realized gold price to nearly $5,000 per ounce. Higher revenues drove gross profit to 16.1 million, more than four times higher than the prior year period which is a new record for the company. Net loss increased to 76 million or $0.09 per share compared to a net loss of 41 million or $0.10 per share in the prior year period mainly due to higher non cash accounting impacts tied to stronger metals prices resulting in fair value revaluations on derivative instruments, financing costs related to the recapitalization and increased expenses as we advance the development plan. This was all partially offset by higher gross profit. Our adjusted loss increased to just below 29 million compared to 24 million in the prior year which is in line with our expectations due to higher planned pre development, evaluation and exploration activities. As we continue to advance multiple projects under the development plan. As a reminder, under US GAAP, which we transitioned to in 2024, pre development, evaluation and exploration costs are expensed until we declare mineral reserves. Cash used in operating activities increased to $45 million from $23 million in the prior year period, mainly due to interest payments related to the settlement of legacy debt. Looking ahead, we continue to see results from across the business trend in line with our expectations for the year and we remain on track to achieve our 2026 guidance. With that, I will now turn the call back to Richard to highlight some upcoming catalysts.

Richard Young (President and Chief Executive Officer)

Well, thank you, Ryan. Now Turning to slide 13, we're entering a new phase in our company's evolution. The completion of the recapitalization shifts the focus to the quality of our Nevada asset base, the scale of the portfolio and our ability to create a mid tier gold producer over the next five or six years. And the milestones within our development plan which we expect to deliver on this year and next. These include feasibility studies for all three of our underground projects, pre feasibility studies for our two large open pit oxide projects, bringing our second underground mine, Archimedes online, and completing the refurbishment of the Lone Tree process plant. We continue to trade at a significant discount to the value of our asset base and our prospects. As we execute on our development plan. We believe there's a clear opportunity to close that gap and create meaningful shareholder value. We'll now turn this call back to the operator Vincent for questions.

OPERATOR

Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, just press Star, then the number one on your telephone keypad. And if you would like to withdraw a question, just press Star, then the two again. That will be Star, then the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to ask a question, just pause for a brief moment to compile the Q and A roster. We have no questions during this time. I'll turn the call back over to Richard.

Richard Young (President and Chief Executive Officer)

Well, Vincent, thank you very much. And you know, well, our first quarter was important to us and we're thrilled that the progress we're making. There was other news in our sector earlier today and I think we, we all here at I-80 Gold Corp wish both companies well on that merger. And we are here to answer any questions that people have as the dust settles. But you know, I think I want to reiterate that, you know, we put out a development plan 18 months ago and we're executing on that plan. We believe there's a lot of value with our asset base. The goal ultimately is to find more gold than we disclosed in the Preliminary Assessments and our resource statement, and that work is well underway with the biggest drill program we've ever had. So we look forward to continuing to execute and tell our story. Everyone have a wonderful day today.

Disclaimer: This transcript is provided for informational purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, there may be errors or omissions in this automated transcription. For official company statements and financial information, please refer to the company's SEC filings and official press releases. Corporate participants' and analysts' statements reflect their views as of the date of this call and are subject to change without notice.