i-80 Gold Corp. (IAUX) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Hello, and welcome to I-80 Gold's third quarter 2026 results conference call and webcast.

At this time, all lines are in listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question and answer session. If you wish to ask a question, please press star 1. If at any time during this call you require immediate assistance, please press star 0 for the operator. I will now turn the call over to Katarina DeRosa, Vice President, Investor Relations at I-80 Gold.

Thank you, Operator, and hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us to review IED Gold's third quarter results. Today's company's presenters include Richard Young, President and CEO, Paul Chowron, COO, and Ryan Snow, CFO. Before we begin, please note that today's discussion will include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. So, we ask you to refer to the cautionary notes regarding these forward-looking statements in yesterday's press release, as well as the company filings. Today's remarks should be reviewed together with the Form 10Q for the quarter ended on September 30th, which is available at our website, CEDAR Plus, and EDGARP. I will now turn the call over to Richard.

Katarina, thank you, and hello, everyone. Turning to slide three, we made further progress during the quarter toward our goal of building a multi-asset, mid-tier gold producer in Nevada. Each milestone strengthens our track record of execution and brings us a step closer to realizing the value of our portfolio. During the third quarter, we published the Granite Creek Underground Feasibility Study. The study establishes made-in mineral reserves and outlines robust project economics, a higher production rate, and a longer mine life compared with the March 25 preliminary economic assessment. Paul will discuss the ongoing drilling campaign across the property, designed to support further resource growth and reserve conversion to further extend the mine life at Granite Creek. At Archimedes Underground, development remains on track to achieve first gold mining by year end, bringing our second high-grade underground project into production. The metallurgical test work completed during the quarter confirmed strong heap leach recoveries for the greater-than-anticipated oxide material identified earlier this year through infill drilling in the upper 426 zone. Placing the material on the existing heap leach pad is expected to significantly reduce processing costs over the next few years of oxide mining compared with the Archimedes PA mine plant. At the Lone Tree plant, the refurbishment is progressing on schedule and largely on budget, with first gold pour targeted for the fourth quarter of next year. Lone Tree is where our production platform comes together, unlocking the operating efficiencies of our two underground projects, generating stronger margins that is expected to transform our cash flow profile. Our 2026 drill programs across our 200-gram projects and Mineral Point Open Pit have delivered strong results, highlighting the potential to expand mineral resources beyond those outlined in the 2025 PAs. Permitting activities across the portfolio also progressed on track with our development plans. We also continued discussions with our key stakeholders, particularly in Eureka, the neighboring community of our Ruby Hill property, to advance long-term planning for our workforce, housing, and infrastructure buildup to support planned project growth at Archimedes in the short term and Mineral Point in the medium term. Our team is advancing a clearly defined development plan to increase production and generate stronger free cash flows. Turning now to slide four. We updated our development plan after quarter end. Our near-term plans remain unchanged. This includes establishing our hub-and-spoke mining and processing platform with Granite Creek and Archimedes feeding through the Lone Tree Process Plant. 2027 will be a transition year for the company. We plan to continue to ramp up mining at our two underground mines and complete the plant refurbishment to position I-80 to grow from a higher cost, 40,000 to 50,000 ounce per year producer, into a lower cost, 150,000 to 200,000 ounce per year producer, beginning in 2028. Ahead of Lone Tree's commissioning, we plan on building up refractory and oxide stockpiles during 2027 to support the plant's ramp-up. We're currently evaluating when to begin stockpiling, along with the timing and expected throughput of commissioning next fall. Exploration upside at both Granite Creek and Archimedes supports the potential for longer-term feed base for Lone Tree. Therefore, Cove Underground has been resequenced later in the development pipeline as an important future source of refractory feed, likely in the second half of the 2030s or later. Our Mineral Point Open Pit Oxide Project represents the next major development project, supporting our medium-term production target of 400,000 to 500,000 ounces of gold-equivalent production by the early 2030s. Once Mineral Point is operating, we plan to develop the Granite Creek Open Pit Oxide Project, which supports our longer-term target of 500,000 to 600,000 ounces of annual gold production by the mid-2030s. This growth is planned around assets we already own. In a top mining jurisdiction we know well, our growing team brings proven mine building, and operating experience, and is focused on continuing to deliver consistent execution, quarter after quarter, as we build I-80 into a Nevada-focused mid-tier goal producer. With that, I'll turn the call over to Paul to walk through each project.

Thanks, Richard. Starting with Granite Creek Underground on slide five. Underground development is on track, with nearly 900 metres completed year-to-date in the main decline and lateral development to access the ore. This allows for consistent access to approximately 12 to 15 ore and waste headings at any one time, supporting the mine plan through year-end and beyond. As outlined in the feasibility study, work on a main ventilation raise is planned to begin in late 2026 and carry into 2027 as part of our life of mine optimisation. Mining continued in the OG, Upper South Pacific, and Auto Zones, though the total ore tons of material mined were lower than the plat. This was due to a high volume of contractor workforce turnover during the quarter because it increased competition for skilled underground labor in the region. As a result, material movement was reduced, which delayed access to some high-grade headings. We have since implemented a competitive retention incentive program, and contractor staffing has recovered to a steady state to support planned mining rates through the balance of 2026. We expect both mine grades and tons to improve in the fourth quarter as a result. The total tons mined were approximately 86,000 tons, including 22,000 tons of sulfide ore, grading over 8 grams per ton, and 12,400 tons of oxide ore, grading over 9 grams per ton. Approximately 18,400 tons of sulfide ore was processed during the quarter. Limited availability at the third-party facility meant processing lag mining, increasing quarter-end inventories. At the end of the quarter, approximately 6,200 recoverable ounces remain in process at our third party, plus an additional 3,000 ounces in finished goods inventory at the facility. Gold production for the quarter totaled approximately 9,100 ounces, similar to the prior year period, and higher ounces mined year-to-date. We expect the project to reach the lower half of full-year production guidance range of 30,000 to 40,000 ounces. Unit mining costs were higher year-over-year, reflecting higher contractor and labor costs and lower mining rates. However, we expect to be on budget for the year. Water management remains under control as the existing pumping infrastructure is able to maintain inflow rates, which remain at approximately 1,300 to 1,400 gallons per minute. Construction of the second water treatment was completed in the quarter and is currently undergoing commissioning for water placement into the RIBS. With the completion of two new dewatering wells this quarter, we expect to reach treatment levels of up to 3,500 gallons per minute, which will start to lower the groundwater table and eventually improve the long-term mining conditions of the life of mine plant. Moving to slide 6. Infill and step-out drilling at Granite Creek Underground progress to support resource conversion, mine planning, and continued resource expansion. Since mining commenced, delineation drilling ahead of mining that targets a spacing of approximately 40 feet has consistently defined additional mineralization relative to the block model on individual mining levels. Under a multi-year drilling program expected to begin in 2027, further drilling is planned across five highly prospective focus areas for evaluation. The South Pacific Range Front Auto and OG zones and the high-grade CX zone beneath the historic pit. We believe these programs to grow the existing mineral resource and extend the mine life. The Granite Creek Feasibility Study published in September strengthened the mine plan through better geological definition with an optimized mine design and increased mining rates due to adjustments to the ore access plan. Infill drilling improved continuity in the South Pacific zone and converted a significant portion of resources into higher confidence categories. This supported a larger mineable inventory and an eight-and-a-half-year mine life after accounting for more than a year of depletion since the PEA. The updated plan supports higher plan production with less waste development, backed by upgrades to dewatering and water treatment systems, and less restricted ventilation. The study also incorporates stockpiling sulfide and oxide ore in 2027, ahead of lone trees commissioning, allowing more Granite Creek material to benefit from anticipated lower processing costs and reduced reliance on third-party processing. Turning to slide 7, progress at Archimedes Underground continues to demonstrate strong execution with unit costs largely on budget, with first gold mine expected in the fourth quarter of this year. This is a highly anticipated milestone that brings our second underground project into operation. Underground operating costs remain in line with the PEA, while capital costs are expected to be slightly higher, reflecting investment in surface and underground infrastructure to support long-term operations at the Ruby Hill property. Favorable ground conditions and contractor productivity supported approximately 2,300 metres of development for the nine-month period well in advance of the plan. Development during the quarter focused on advancement of the main ramp, completion of lateral access for drilling platforms, and preparation for ore mining this quarter. In addition to the waste development and drilling in the expiration drift, focus for the quarter was on installation of key infrastructure, such as completion of the backfill plant, ventilation raises, and the surface infrastructure. Continued focus on infrastructure will be required in Q4 in preparation for the heap leach, additional ventilation raises, progress in the main drive facility, and planning and engineering for installation of the main fan assembly area. Permitting activities for Lower Archimedes continue to advance as planned. As a reminder, the project is permitted above the 5,100-foot level at Archimedes for the start of production mining, which is approximately several years ahead of mining. As part of our updated stockpiling strategy, refractory material from Archimedes is now expected to be stockpiled in 2027 for processing at our wholly owned Lone Tree plant, and once commissioned, rather than processing through a third-party facility, mine plant optimization for 2027 is ongoing for this increased oxide resource in the upper zone. As Richard discussed, placement of the oxide material on the existing leach pad at Ruby Hill property is expected to begin by year-end. The emerging oxide opportunity at Archimedes has the potential to provide meaningful, low-cost near-term ounces. Metallurgical test work has been completed for the oxide material, demonstrating excellent leach kinetics and gold recovery at a sizing conducive to the underground run-of-mine feed. We are pleased at how this project has progressed from a construction decision in September of 2025 to the expected first gold in only 15 months. Turning to slide 8, recent drilling at Archimedes has reinforced the grades and continuity within the planned mining areas from the PEA and extended mineralization beyond the previous resource boundaries. The 2026 infill drilling campaign for the lower 426 and ruby deep zones began during the second quarter with an expected campaign of approximately 55,000 meters across 140 holes. Results of this program will support an updated resource estimate for a feasibility study expected in the second half of 2027. At present, seven drill rigs are operating underground, with drilling expected to be completed in the second half of 2027. The company expects to release ongoing results as this campaign progresses. Looking at slide 9 for an update on the Lone Tree Plant. We are pleased with the progress on the lone tree plant refurbishment project, which remains on track for first gold pour in Q4-27, consistent with the execution plan outlined in a December 2025 engineering study. Bulk demolition is complete, contractor mobilization is underway for initial construction, and we are initiating civil and concrete work. Engineering and procurement continue to advance in line with the project schedule. Management is also preparing for operational readiness, the commissioning schedule, and initial placement of operating personnel during the course of 2027. Construction permits continue to be received ahead of schedule, and the remaining routine operating permits continue to advance in line with the construction schedule. Overall project cost remains largely in line with the $430 million capital estimate. By September end, 74% of procurement packages by value had been awarded, and 44% of total project capital was committed. While 2026 cash expenditures are expected to be below the original guidance, we still expect refurbishment capital to be near fully committed by the end of the year, as we work towards securing a general contractor in December. Labor costs are running approximately 5% to 10% above the original estimates. However, those increases remain within contingency at present. Approximately 20% of total contingency has been used at quarter end, which places us in a great position as

we head into the critical phases of the project.

Turning to slide 10. As Richard discussed, the Mineral Point Open Pit Oxide Project is our next major development priority. During the quarter, we completed approximately 26,000 meters of core and reverse circulation drilling focused on converting inferred mineral resources into the indicated category in preparation for a pre-feasibility study. Drilling rates reached steady state during the quarter, with productivity improving significantly as additional rigs arrived. Nine drill rigs are currently active at Mineral Point, bringing the total across the Ruby Hill property, including Archimedes Underground, to 16. Initial infill and step-out drill results to the east and north were encouraging, suggesting potential to extent mineralization beyond the 2025 PEA pit shell. Of the initial 35 holes reported, 19 tested beyond the existing mineral resource, with all of them intersect in mineralization, and more than half showing gold and silver intercepts exceeding 150 meters. And 15 of these tested the eastern extension, three to the north, and one to the west. The eastern area shows the greatest expansion potential and has had only sparse historical drilling. Geotechnical drilling for pre-feasibility study is complete. The study is expected in the second half of 2027, subject to completion of the broader drilling program. Early-stage pre-permitting work for Mineral Point continued to advance. Formal permitting has not yet commenced. Turning to slide 11, at Granite Creek Open Pit, preparation for a pre-feasibility study has commenced, and early-stage pre-permitting activities are ongoing. Technical site investigation and baseline environmental work is anticipated to commence in the first quarter of 2027 with subsequent engineering tradeoff optimization studies, followed by completion of a pre-feasibility study technical report,

expected in the second half of 2027.

We are currently working through operational and permitting needs, followed by an expected EIS, which is currently projected to commence in 2027. And then looking at Cove, during the quarter, we continue to advance technical and economic studies for the Cove Underground Project with optimization of the dewatering capital and a revised mine plan. Federal and state Nevada permitting approvals continue to progress. A feasibility study for Cove is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026. As mentioned, recent success at Granite Creek and Archimedes Underground Mines has allowed us to sequence cove later in our development plan, likely into the 2030s. And now with that, I'll hand that over to Ryan.

Thank you, Paul. Looking at slide 12, our balance sheet remains strong, supported by the completion of our recapitalization in the first quarter, stronger operations, and higher realized gold prices. We ended the quarter with a cash balance of approximately $411 million. This was a reduction from approximately $465 million at the end of the second quarter. Our cash balance remains in line with expectations, if not slightly better. Additional monies are expected under the gold prepay with the banks, the Franco Nevada NSR, the anticipated exercise of warrants, and stockpile facilities. Together, these sources could provide up to approximately $350 million of additional liquidity over the next 18 months to help fund the completion of the hub-and-spoke strategy and advance the other projects in the pipeline through permitting and technical studies. Other than the NSR, each of these sources is subject to lender approval, definitive agreements, or the exercise of outstanding warrants. The company is also advancing discussions related to a corporate credit facility that would provide additional liquidity, if needed, for development of Mineral Point. And that'll really be a function of gold price and other market factors, but we want to ensure that we can fund Mineral Point without further equity dilution. Moving to slide 13, company-wide gold production and sales for the quarter were approximately 11,700 ounces and 7,750 ounces, respectively. Compared to 12,430 and 9,370 ounces in the prior year period. For the nine-month period, gold production and sales were approximately 33,650 ounces and 23,670 ounces, respectively, compared to about 26,250 and 22,720 ounces in the prior year period. The difference between gold produced and gold sold reflects the timing and availability of third-party processing. As Paul noted, the work-in-process inventory currently sits at over 6,200 recoverable ounces of gold, in addition to 3,000 ounces in finished goods inventory. This brings total gold inventory with our third-party processing partner to just over 9,000 ounces. Total revenue increased for the quarter, mainly due to the increase in average realized gold price, and for the year-to-date, as a result of the increase in average realized gold price and higher ounces sold. These revenues drove a significant increase in gross profit for the quarter and year to date. Net loss increased for the quarter and nine months and was primarily due to increased pre-development expenses as we advance the development plan, which we will begin to capitalize as we publish feasibility studies and declare commercial production. Non-cash accounting impacts tied to the revaluation of our financial instruments, financing costs related to the We declared our first mineral reserves at Granite Creek Underground, and as a result, beginning in Q4 of this year, We will be capitalizing qualifying costs associated with pre-development, evaluation, and exploration. As a reminder, under U.S. GAAP, which we transitioned to in 2024, pre-development, evaluation, and exploration costs are expensed until we declare mineral reserves. As such, pre-development, evaluation, and exploration costs associated with our other projects will continue to be expensed until their respective technical reports are completed. Cash used in operating activities for the quarter and year-to-date increased, mainly due to increased development, evaluation, and exploration outflows as we ramp up activities, interest paid on the repayment of legacy debt, all partially offset by our increased gross profit. Turning to, sorry, looking at 2026 guidance on slide 14, we expect production to be in the lower half of our guidance range, partly due to our decision to leach our committee's oxide material on our existing leach pad, rather than selling it under the ore purchase agreement. As a result, production from material placed on the pad in Q4 of this year is expected to be recorded in Q1 of 2027. With production being in the lower half of the guidance range and more lower cost oxide material from Granite Creek than planned, we expect operating costs to be at or below the low end of the guidance range. Overall, sustaining capital, growth capital, and pre-development expense are expected to be at the low end of the guidance range. While the Lone Tree plant refurbishment is on schedule, we are seeing a delay between commitment and invoicing or payment of around four months, rather than 30 days used in the budgeting process. Exploration expenses are expected to be below the guidance range, mainly due to fewer feet drilled than planned as a result of the late delivery of rigs to the Ruby Hill property and contractor personnel shortages discussed last quarter. These updates mainly reflect timing of spend as the company remains on track to meet our development objectives. I'll now hand the call back over to Richard.

Well, thank you, Ryan. We'll now open up the call, Joelle, to questions.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. We will now begin the question and answer session. Should you have a question, please, for a star followed by the one on your touchstone phone. I'm sorry. Should you have a question? Should you wish to decline from the polling process, please press star followed by the two. If you are using a speakerphone, please lift the hands up before pressing any keys. One moment, please, for your first question. Your first question comes from Justin Chan with SCP Resource Finance. Your line is now open.

Hi, Richard Polentine. Thanks for hosting the call. My first one is just on Archimedes. So to just clarify, so heat bleach ounces will start getting production in Q1. There'll be some tons placed in Q4. Just curious to get a better sense of mining ramp up rate. Will you be stoping in Q4? Is it mostly ore from development? And then, can you give us an early preview of kind of how next year looks in terms of how much stoping ramps up, or is ore mostly from development, and then the split between oxides and sulfides that you're expecting, stockpiled sulfides and aged oxides?

Yeah, okay. So, first of all, it's virtually no ore coming from development, and we're already accessing it right now today, so we can even touch the ore. So what we're doing is we're prudently placing it on the pad. As I mentioned, it'll be run of mine, and we've done quite a lot of work on the heap leaching just to make sure that we're getting the good recovery because this is good grade stuff. In terms of proportion of sulfide to oxide, our focus is on the oxide, but just due to the way the nature of the ore body works, we will be mining through some of the sulfide. That'll be placed in stockpile, and then by about mid-year, We'll be starting to haul that over to Lone Tree, just based on our stockpile capacity in 2027. And then in terms of mining rates, we're going to be ramping up towards the end of the year. We're going to be looking at somewhere in the range of 1,500 tons per day. That's the goal. We'll continue that even higher into 2028. We just need to be prudent with our expectation on the mining rates as we start to build up the contractor workforce. We also have, as we've outlined, some challenges with Eureka Town, making sure that we have the proper accommodation. So we don't want to be excessive on our expectations there. But hopefully that answers your questions.

Oh, that's great. And maybe just a follow-up on the rates. 1,500 by the end of 27. What's a good kind of entry-level rate for entering 27?

Yeah, probably 700 to 800 range is what we're at now. We won't really know until we get going because we're also focused on development. So I'm just trying to give you roughly how much will be in the ore.

Gotcha. Thanks. And then my second one might be more aimed at Ryan, but on the CapEx timing, I guess, cash versus accruing, for Q4, will you still be accruing more than your cash outgoing, or does that time delay start to mean that the two numbers are the same, even if there's a delay? Just trying to get a sense of when the two will match up better. Is that Q4, or is it sometime next year?

Justin, that'll be sometime next year. We'll definitely continue to see the delay in Q4, going through most of 27, we expect. So, you know, ultimately, we do expect some cash outflows related to the refurbishment to go into 2028, as we catch up on that timing difference.

Okay, thanks very much. All right, perfect. I'll free up the line for now, and if we have any more, we'll jump back in. Thanks very much.

Thanks, Justin.

Your next question comes from Don DeMarco with National Bank. Your line is now open.

Thank you, operator, and good morning, Richard and team. So at Granite Creek, I see that horizontal development remains on track. The ventilation raise was just pushed into early 27, or maybe even late this year. Does that timing adjustment on the ventilation raise affect production flexibility? And also regarding the contractor turnover, should we regard that as wholly addressed at this point?

Yeah. Okay, first on the ventilation. No, it's not going to affect the mine plan. What the team did is we had a number of options for the feasibility study. One of the options that we had to stick with because we needed to get the report out was going straight to surface through the alluvial. But in order to avoid that, we needed to do a little bit more work and then install the main ventilation rays going close to surface, and then the outlet is through one of the add-its. It's significantly cheaper. And no, we've done all the vents and models, and we won't be affected by ventilation. And then the other question is on the contractor workforce. We're at steady state now, and in fact, we're ramping up through for production rates into 2027. And that was a relatively short-term impact, but it's also why we were lower on our material movement for Q3.

Okay, great. Looking ahead to 2027 guidance, what do you plan to include in that guidance release? Will it simply be production and cost? You know, cost might be a new item to include, or will you also include things like ounces mine, process, and so on?

So, Don, we're working through that, and we'll give as much guidance as possible. We'll certainly give tons of great amounts of mine from both properties, as well as what the stockpiling strategy is and what we think the production profile looks like. Both Archimedes keep leaching, what gets put through third-party processing, and then ultimately what we think will be unprocessed at our own facility, Lone Tree, in Q4. But it is going to be a complex year. We're working through all that, and we will give you guidance on all those aspects with our year-end reporting in February.

Okay, thank you. And as a final question, looking to the mineral point PFS, I heard that it's targeted for the second half of next year, subject to drilling. So should we expect largely a de-risk version of the 2025 PA mine plan? Or do you anticipate any material changes like a larger production profile, stage build, maybe lower initial capex or anything else?

I would say that we're looking at more or less verifying a lot of the assumptions in the PEA. There is some aspects that we're working with internally, though. As we mentioned, there is potential for expansion of the pit to the east and to the north. There may be some thought that we would take a little longer, drill that out, and then include an expanded pit, but then that changes some of the material balance. So we're working through that internally, but I would say for now, more or less consistent with what we have in the PEA.

I mean, Don, the key focus story on that one is to define the project parameters so that we can submit the project description, is what we call it in Canada in the States, it's plan of operations, to be able to commence that permitting as soon as possible next year. So that's going to be a real focus of the team.

Okay. Thank you for taking my questions, and good luck with the rest of the quarter. Thanks, John.

Your next question comes from Harrison Reynolds with RBC. Your line is now open.

Great. Thank you. Good morning, IED team, and congratulations on the continued progress in the quarter. On Archimedes, good to see the developments on track. I wanted to ask on the upcoming feasibility in In 2027, can you let us know what you're seeing in terms of the ongoing drilling, the oxide you're seeing, and how ground conditions are in the underground development, and what your expectations are for the feasibility study, and how it will compare to the prior technical report?

Yeah, great, great question, Harrison. Okay, so the upper zone in the 426 that we're heap leaching, we don't expect that to continue significantly beyond what we've drilled, maybe a little bit. And then in terms of the ruby deeps, which is where the bulk of the remaining drilling is going, we're just getting some of those results now. So for the time being, we can just say we can expect to prove out what is inferred in the PEA to

indicate it for the feasibility plan.

In terms of some of the technical work, we did increase significantly the amount of geotechnical holes. And the main reason for that is we do want to explore and we think that there's reasonable potential for us to do long-haul mining, which is significantly cheaper and higher, more productive than underhand cut and fill down in the ruby deep zone. And so that has taken longer. And as well, we had some challenges with some of the contractor production rates for the drilling production rates. So we're into the back half of 2027 to get this feasibility out. And I think stay tuned for us to show potential with the Ruby Deefs and some of those results. We're just starting to get those back ourselves.

Thanks. That's great detail, Paul. Appreciate that. And secondly, while it's early days, how much material would you like to stockpile ahead of Lone Tree commissioning between Granite Creek and Archimedes, and does it make sense to stockpile as much as possible given the economic uplift you get post-Lone Tree, or what are the puts and takes you're considering on the stockpile timing and sizing?

In a perfect world, we would stockpile at least 200,000 tons of material in advance of commissioning of Lone Tree because we do have excess capacity at Lone Tree in 28 as both Archimedes and Granite Creek ramp up and just the cost benefit of, you know, we're currently paying about $350 a ton for that. We've got sulfide material through a third party, and, you know, that number drops to about $100 a ton, so we're clearly incentivized to stockpile, particularly with the working capital facility that Ryan and the team have been able to negotiate for the stockpile to be able to stockpile that and put it through our own facilities.

Got it. Thank you. That's everything on my end. Congratulations on the ongoing progress again. Thanks, Harrison.

Ladies and gentlemen, as a reminder, should you have a question, please press star 1. Your next question comes from John Tumazos with John Tumazos Very Independent Research. Your line is now open.

Thank you, Rich.

Could you explain a little more the very nice oxide grades, both at Granite Creek and Archimedes in the quarter? Some of the drilling for the resources was wider-spaced. Can you identify and plan ahead all these simple metallurgy oxide extractions, or are they favorable surprises? Will they increase in the next quarter, et cetera? Sure.

Oh, okay. So that's, I'll just have to unpack that a little bit, John. So over at Archimedes, the oxide, that was straight from drilling. So that's not mining. And as we were drilling prudently, we ran comprehensive legal test work so that as with each drill and we get the assays, we know what is oxide and what is sulfide pretty confidently. Now, over at Granite Creek, however, a lot of that drilling wasn't comprehensive enough with the legal testing. And so we're doing that with our delineation drilling. And then that would be, as you say, a bit of a pleasant surprise with that amount of oxide. And so that's why in the feasibility study, you don't see a lot of oxide. It's because the legal test work wasn't done sufficiently to be able to model that for QP. So we will likely have more oxide in granite than what we have in the mine plan. And as we mentioned before, that is lower cost to process, either with heap leach over at Ruby, or we can process that by passing the autoclave, as we mentioned on calls before, stockpiling that over at Lone Tree. So it's not impacting our economics. In fact, it's favorable. But there's still technical work to be done ahead over at Granite to be able to understand where the oxide boundaries are. And so it basically carries through the structures. And then you end up getting the meteor water and then it gets oxidized. And that's how you create the oxidized zone. And that's essentially the identical mineralogy. It's just it's had time to oxidize. So, in terms of it being higher or lower grade, it's no different than the sulfide.

I could ask another.

When is the timing of the large CapEx outlays and cash draws? Basically, when do you have to write the big checks?

Yeah, so we're just ramping up construction now. We'll award the general contractor sometime in December. That's our goal. And then, once we start to mobilize, and then we continue on with construction, steel, concrete, and some of the other refurbishment, we'll be starting to get towards 300 people at site. And so, as you say, the big checks, they'll probably be in Q2 and Q3 of 27.

Thank you. It was great to see so much cash still on the books when there's so much work ahead.

Thanks, John. Brian, thanks about that every day.

There are no further questions on the phone. I will now turn the call over to Katerina DeRosa for questions via the webcast.

Thank you. Our first question online states, is the tender for loan tree completion imminent? If not, when in the fourth quarter will it be signed? And specifically, when do you plan for construction to commence?

You take that.

So for Granite Creek, it's still a very valuable asset, but we don't really want to be.

This is Lone Tree. This is the general contractor. Oh, I'm sorry.

Okay, so we expect to award that in December, and then we hope to mobilize early in the new year.

And just for the benefit of the group, there are about 600 man hours required for this construction project, which is low. We've got contracts for the first $300,000. The general contractor is for the balance, about $300,000 hours. And it's the biggest contract. We had eight groups in the tender process, and we would expect to work that this summer. And so by year end, we're going to have a good sense for where we stand in terms of our commitment. We should largely be committed with all procurement, largely complete all the major contracts as we move into 2027.

Okay, the next online question, is $411 million sufficient to get loan tree commissioned without an equity raise? How confident are you that our communities will begin production mining before 2027? We have addressed some of these items, but...

Yeah, maybe I'll start off and Ryan, you can jump in. We were conservative with the recap. All of our projects are on schedule and on budget, and we believe we've got significant liquidity. As we move through 2027, so an equity raise will not be required. And the one item that I would like to reinforce, it was a comment by Ryan. We originally, with the RECAT, were targeting 30-day payments after commitment. We're seeing about a four-month lag, which means that despite the fact that we would expect to commission Loan Tree in Q4 of next year, we probably won't be, you know, completing the payment for that project until 2028, right? I'm not sure if you've got something.

The only thing I'd add to that, Richard, is that in addition to the $411 million in cash on the balance sheet, we've got access to about additional $350 million more through the accordion feature on the gold prepay instrument, the warrants that we expect to be exercised between now and November of next year, the additional monies that we have earmarked under the stockpile finance facilities that we've discussed in the call. So, the $411 million on the balance sheet is in addition to the $350 million we have available and should be sufficient to get us through everything we anticipate doing.

Okay. Thank you. The next question, this is from Adela Harding at Alco Daily Free Press. Will you use Ruby Hill mine for leached ore?

Yes, the answer is yes. So Archimedes, Archimedes oxides will be placed on the existing Ruby Hill path. Yes.

Covered some of these topics. And the final question from Webb is, can you please provide some more color on the change in timing for the next few technical studies, specifically Archimedes mineral points and then Granite Creek open pit? If that was under review, what changed there?

Okay, well, one at a time. So we talked a little bit about it, Sol. Just the drilling at Mineral Point is taking a little longer. We also have some extended areas, and we also had a little bit more geotechnical work that we needed to get done. So that's carrying into, and it's also approximately two months for us to receive the assays. So when you back calculate that out, we're into the second half of 2027. Really just solely to get the technical information we need to do the pre-feasibility for mineral oil. Archimedes, very similar situation. We now have seven rigs running, but we weren't able to man up 24-7, all seven rigs. And now these are getting into longer holes, so the production rate of the drills wasn't quite as planned. And so now we don't expect to complete that till approximately Q2, which then again, we need to wait for assays and do the technical work to be able to do a feasibility study. So again, that's into the second half of 27 as well. And then for Granite Creek, quite a bit more going on there. So we've been doing quite a bit of tradeoff studies, quite a bit of work with the existing resource estimate. Most of that is already indicated. We do need to do a little bit of infill drilling. But what we did do internally was spend quite a bit of time looking at the scope of all the work we need to do to do all the proper tradeoff studies with heap leach, with CIL, where the TMF would ultimately be, all the components that we have on the surface infrastructure, the geotech site investigation work, so on and so on. And so we have a comprehensive scope that we hope to initiate in Q1 and then to be able to get all that work put together so that we can then put up the detailed work we need for a project description to start an EIS process. And then lastly, as Richard mentioned, we hope to put that construction as we continue to advance the technical work on the back end of Mineral Point.

Okay. Thanks, Paul. There's no further questions online.

Well, thank you, everyone, for joining us today. You know, I think in summary, you know, we put out five PAs in the first quarter of 2025, and other than cove dewatering, which is coming in higher than what the PA had allocated, we're not seeing any surprises. What we are seeing, though, is Granite Creek Underground, Archimedes, and Mineral Point will likely be larger than what was in the PAs. And we think as we move forward quarter after quarter in terms of executing, we'll start to move towards fair value. We think this is a very valuable portfolio in the number one mining jurisdiction globally, and it'll take time, but we expect to move to fair value as we continue to execute. So happy to take any further calls as people review the materials that were published overnight, but thank you for attending the call today.

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call for today. We thank you for participating, and ask that you please disconnect your lines.