i-80 Gold Q1 2026: Lone Tree Funded and Under Construction as Operating Base Delivers Record Gross Profit

• Revenue reached $52.4 million in the first quarter of 2026, 3.7 times the prior year period's $14.0 million, with gross profit of $16.1 million representing the highest quarterly result in the company's history.
• The $78.6 million net loss reflects $48.4 million in non-cash fair value revaluations on derivative instruments and $7.1 million in non-cash legacy debt extinguishment losses, with adjusted loss per share declining to $0.03 from $0.05 in the prior year period.
• Granite Creek produced 8,857 ounces at oxide grades above the March 2025 Preliminary Economic Assessment, with a sulphide stockpile of over 4,000 recoverable ounces held at quarter-end due to the availability of third-party processing.
• Closed financing transactions totalling $787.5 million, comprising a Franco-Nevada net smelter return royalty, a gold prepayment facility with National Bank of Canada and Macquarie Bank Limited, and convertible senior notes, eliminated going-concern risk and delivered $513.5 million in cash at March 2026.
• Board-approved construction of the Lone Tree Plant targets commissioning in the fourth quarter of 2027, with Phase 1 production of 150,000 to 200,000 ounces annually from 2028, supported by a $430 million capital estimate backed by a Level 3 engineering study.

i-80 Gold (NYSE: IAUX | TSX: IAU) entered the first quarter of 2026 having resolved the structural constraint that had defined its investment risk: the capital needed to fund Lone Tree was closed. The financial results reflect what followed. Revenue reached $52.4 million, gross profit set a company record at $16.1 million, and the quarter closed with $513.5 million in cash. These results were produced by the existing operating base, without Lone Tree processing an ounce, and they establish a financial foundation that reduces the company's dependence on future milestones to demonstrate that the investment case is already delivering.

First Quarter 2026 Revenue & Gross Profit

Revenue of $52.4 million in the first quarter of 2026 represents a 3.7 times increase from $14.0 million in the prior year period, driven by the finalisation of a third-party toll processing agreement at Granite Creek and a higher average realised gold price of $4,941 per ounce.

The revenue expansion translated directly to the operating line. The company recorded gross profit of $16.1 million on consolidated gold sales of 10,590 ounces, against cost of sales of $35.8 million. In the prior year period, gross profit stood at $2.9 million. The year-on-year movement from $2.9 million to $16.1 million reflects the combined effect of volume and price: the toll processing arrangement enabled ounces that would otherwise have remained in a refractory sulphide stockpile, and the average realised gold price of $4,941 per ounce placed a higher dollar value on each ounce sold.

The $16.1 million gross profit was produced by the operating base as currently configured, before Lone Tree comes online and before owner-operated processing replaces the third-party arrangement. At that level in a single quarter, the existing assets are generating a positive contribution at the operating line, a financial foundation that Phase 1 production from 2028 is designed to extend significantly, not initiate from zero.

Net Loss & Non-Cash Charges

The $78.6 million net loss in the first quarter of 2026 does not reflect the asset-level operational position. Its two largest components were $48.4 million in non-cash fair value revaluations on derivative financial instruments and $7.1 million in non-cash losses on extinguishment of legacy debt, neither of which represents a cash cost incurred in producing and selling gold.

Removing those charges, the adjusted loss was $28.6 million, compared to $23.6 million in the prior year period. On a per-share basis, the reported loss narrowed to $0.09 from $0.10, and the adjusted loss per share fell to $0.03 from $0.05. Cash used in operating activities was $45.1 million, up from $22.7 million in the prior year period, with the increase attributable to $25.7 million in interest payments on the extinguishment of legacy debt obligations, a one-time cash cost associated with retiring the Orion Gold Prepay, the Orion convertible loan, and the 2023 convertible debentures. Pre-development, evaluation, and exploration expenditure totalling $25.7 million during the quarter reflects active deployment into the drilling programme and technical studies.

That trajectory represents the operational trend once accounting mechanics tied to the recapitalisation structure are set aside. Financing expenses of $9.9 million reflect the cost of establishing that structure; the non-cash revaluations reflect mark-to-market movements on instruments created by the same process.

Granite Creek Production & Processing

Granite Creek produced 8,857 ounces of gold in the first quarter of 2026, with 8,767 ounces sold, across total mineralised material of 31,427 tonnes mined and 32,232 tonnes processed. The mine encountered oxide mineralised material at grades above those anticipated in the March 2025 Preliminary Economic Assessment, recording an oxide mined grade of 8.86 grams per tonne alongside a sulphide mined grade of 6.16 grams per tonne. Ruby Hill contributed a further 393 ounces produced and 383 ounces sold during the period.

Third-party autoclave processing is validating the refractory ore approach at an operational scale. 

Chief Operating Officer of i-80 Gold, Paul Chawrun, puts the processing proof point plainly:

"Our ore is currently going through an autoclave through a third-party partner, and so we know this stuff works and it's well-known technology in Nevada."

The arrangement carries a volume ceiling that the Lone Tree transition is built to remove. A sulphide stockpile holding over 4,000 recoverable ounces sat at quarter-end, withheld from revenue solely by third-party processing availability. That inventory represents gold that has already been mined and staged, awaiting owner-operated processing capacity.

Operational continuity required active management. A transformer fire at the main surface electrical substation in January 2026 disrupted mining activities, and temporary generators were installed, with permanent replacement infrastructure completed in mid-March. Underground pumping managed water inflow volumes near capacity, with commissioning of a second, larger water treatment plant on track for June 2026. Archimedes' underground development advanced approximately 660 metres during the quarter, ahead of schedule, expanding access to the sulphide inventory that Lone Tree is positioned to process.

Recapitalisation & Balance Sheet

Cash and cash equivalents reached $513.5 million at March 2026, an increase of $450.3 million from December 2025, driven by closed financing transactions totalling $787.5 million, with gross proceeds of $662.5 million and net proceeds of $637.2 million.

Three instruments completed the recapitalisation. A $250 million net smelter return royalty with Franco-Nevada delivered $225 million on closing, with $25 million contingent on Mineral Point conditions. A $250 million gold prepayment facility was established with National Bank of Canada and Macquarie Bank Limited, including a $100 million accordion option. A further $287.5 million in 3.75% unsecured convertible senior notes due 2031 completed the structure. Proceeds of $165.0 million from the net smelter return royalty were applied to retire the 2023 convertible debentures, the Orion Gold Prepay, and the Orion convertible loan, eliminating the legacy debt obligations that generated the non-cash extinguishment charges in the quarter.

Chawrun is direct about what the recapitalisation represented for execution capacity:

"The largest hurdle was for us to raise this capital. The technical work is ongoing, has been ongoing."

The elimination of going-concern doubt is a binary shift in the company's risk classification. The financing arrangements established a fully funded development plan covering both Phase 1 and Phase 2, removing the capital dependency that had conditioned every prior forward-looking projection. The remaining question is execution against a funded programme, a materially different analytical proposition for an investor assessing timeline risk.

Lone Tree Construction Timeline & Capital Commitment

Board approval of the Lone Tree Plant refurbishment in the first quarter of 2026 set a defined construction sequence: demolition commencing in the second quarter of 2026, construction starting in the second half of 2026, and plant commissioning targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027.

Chawrun is precise on the basis of capital cost confidence:

"The feasibility study was completed about two and a half years ago by Hatch, and then an update was completed, and we released those results in November. The overall capital cost is $430 million. We're quite confident with that because it's what's called a Level 3 engineering study."

The $430 million capital cost is supported by a Level 3 engineering study. Capital commitments stood at $31.2 million at March 2026, with approximately 50% of total project capital expected to be committed by mid-2026. Lone Tree will process material from Granite Creek, Archimedes, and Cove, and the transition from third-party toll milling to owner-operated processing is expected to materially increase operating margins and enhance free cash flow. The development plan targets 150,000 to 200,000 ounces annually in Phase 1 beginning in 2028, scaling to 300,000 to 400,000 ounces in Phase 2, and an anticipated average annual output of 600,000 ounces in Phase 3. The FAD property sale process, previously considered an alternative capital source, was discontinued upon completion of the recapitalisation.

The 2026 drill programme, the largest in the company's history by both planned footage and budget, allocates approximately $80 million to drilling in support of the resource base that Lone Tree is designed to process.

Permitting, Feasibility Studies & Remaining Dependencies

Lone Tree's construction timeline is funded and Board-approved, but permit applications remain outstanding for the new plant design pertaining to air quality, mercury control, water pollution control, reclamation management, and other secondary programmes. Existing operational components at the site are covered by current permits; the outstanding applications pertain specifically to the new design configuration.

At Cove, National Environmental Policy Act permitting activities are underway with the Bureau of Land Management in anticipation of an Environmental Impact Statement. The capital secured during the recapitalisation enables acceleration of that process at Mineral Point, with management indicating it may advance the Environmental Impact Statement timeline at Mineral Point by one to two years relative to the prior trajectory. Feasibility studies with reserve statements for Granite Creek and Cove are targeted for the second quarter of 2026, with the Granite Creek study delayed by ongoing ore discovery during the exploration campaign.

These outstanding items define the boundary conditions on the development schedule. Commissioning of Lone Tree in the fourth quarter of 2027 is contingent on permit receipt within a window compatible with the construction programme. The feasibility reserve statements, once delivered, update the technical foundation against which Phase 1 production targets are modelled, and the acceleration of Mineral Point permitting conditions the timing of Phase 3, the outermost production stage in the company's phased development plan.

Investment Thesis for i-80 Gold

• Revenue grew from $14.0 million to $52.4 million year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, with gross profit reaching a company record of $16.1 million, produced by the operating base before Lone Tree contributes a single ounce.
• The adjusted loss per share of $0.03, down from $0.05 in the prior year period, represents the operational baseline once one-time accounting charges tied to the recapitalisation are excluded, and is the relevant metric for assessing trajectory rather than the reported net loss.
• Granite Creek produced 8,857 ounces at oxide grades above the March 2025 Preliminary Economic Assessment, with a sulphide stockpile of over 4,000 recoverable ounces held at quarter-end due to third-party processing availability, representing inventory already mined and staged for Lone Tree.
• With going-concern risk eliminated and $513.5 million in cash at March 2026, the company's risk profile has shifted from capital dependency to execution risk, a materially different analytical context for assessing the development timeline.
• The $430 million Level 3-estimated Lone Tree construction programme, with 50% of capital commitments expected by mid-2026 and commissioning targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027, converts the operating base from a third-party toll-milling dependency to owner-operated processing, generating Phase 1 production of 150,000 to 200,000 ounces annually from 2028.
• Outstanding permit applications for the new Lone Tree design and feasibility reserve statements for Granite Creek and Cove represent the primary remaining conditions on the construction and production timeline.

TL;DR

i-80 Gold reported a record gross profit of $16.1 million on revenue of $52.4 million in the first quarter of 2026, a 3.7 times increase year-on-year produced by the existing operating base before Lone Tree processes an ounce. Closed financing transactions totalling $787.5 million eliminated going-concern risk and delivered $513.5 million in cash, establishing a fully funded development plan. With Board-approved Lone Tree construction commencing in the second half of 2026 and commissioning targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027, the company's dependence on capital formation has been replaced by dependence on construction and permitting execution against a funded, Level 3-estimated programme.

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