Nevada-focused i-80 Gold is proceeding with its planned underground, advanced-exploration programme at the McCoy-Cove property – a key project contemplated in plans to restart the recently acquired Lone Tree processing facility.
The underground plan would include the construction of a decline and a level that would include multiple drill bays to upgrade resources and complete a feasibility study, the TSX-listed company said on Monday.
Contractor selection would take place in December and i-80 said it expected to break ground for the underground plan at McCoy-Cove in early 2022.
The initial scope of work for the Cove exploration decline consisted of a new portal and more than 1 000 m of underground development. From the decline and drill platform, i-80 would start a 40 000 m in-fill and definition drilling campaign, mainly focusing on upgrading the known resource.
The Cove deposit, i-80 said, was one of North America’s higher-grade gold deposits with grades of more than 10 g/t.
McCoy Cove has indicated resources of 351 000 oz of gold and 943 000 oz of silver and inferred resources of 1.35-million ounces of gold and 2.56-million ounces of silver.
“With the processing arrangement we have with Nevada Gold Mines, in addition to our autoclave, we have secured the required processing that will allow us to build this high-grade mine that is an important component in our growth plans,” said i-80 president and COO Matt Gili.
McCoy-Cove is located about 50 km from the Lone Tree Complex, immediately south of the Nevada Gold Mines’ Phoenix mine in the Battle Mountain-Eureka Trend.