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i-80 Gold Corp. (TSX: IAU) announced on Monday it is proceeding with its planned underground, advanced exploration program at the McCoy-Cove property in Nevada.
McCoy-Cove is one of four projects currently being advanced by i-80, and one of the key projects contemplated in the company’s plans to restart the recently acquired Lone Tree complex.
Mineralization at McCoy-Cove is anticipated to be processed at the Lone Tree facility, which includes an autoclave, located about 50 km to the north. The property is immediately south of Nevada Gold Mines’ Phoenix mine within the Battle Mountain-Eureka trend.
The underground plan includes the construction of a decline and a level that will include multiple drill bays in order to upgrade resources and complete a feasibility study.
According to i-80, the Cove deposit on the McCoy-Cove property represents one of North America’s higher-grade gold deposits with grades in excess of 10 g/t Au. The deposit remains open for expansion to the southeast.
The McCoy-Cove resource is estimated at 351,000 oz gold and 943,000 oz silver in the indicated category, plus 1.35 million oz gold and 2.56 million oz silver in the inferred category.
The initial scope of work for the Cove exploration decline consists of a new portal and over 1,000m of underground development. From this decline and drill platform, the company said it would begin a 40,000m in-fill and definition drilling campaign, primary focused on upgrading the known resource.
“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,” Matt Gili, President & COO of i-80, said in Monday’s release.
Mining contractor selection for the exploration program is expected to take place in December. i-80 anticipates breaking ground for the underground plan at McCoy-Cove in early 2022.
