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Integra Confirms Capital-Efficient US Growth Path as DeLamar Feasibility Study De-Risks Development & Expands Valuation Upside

Integra Resources' DeLamar Feasibility Study confirms US$774M NPV, 46% IRR, and 1.8-year payback for this capital-efficient US gold-silver heap leach project.

  • Integra Resources' DeLamar Feasibility Study, released December 17, 2025, materially de-risks one of the few large-scale US gold-silver projects advancing toward federal permitting, confirming robust economics and rapid capital payback.
  • The project demonstrates strong leverage to precious metals prices, with after-tax NPV5% rising from US$774 million at base case (US$3,000/oz Au, US$35/oz Ag) to US$1.7 billion at elevated pricing (US$4,250/oz Au, US$60/oz Ag), supported by low initial capital expenditure of US$389 million.
  • Simplified heap leach design, staged commissioning, and use of proximate infrastructure materially reduce execution and financing risk relative to prior development concepts.
  • Cash flow from the operating Florida Canyon Mine, producing 70,000 to 75,000 ounces gold in 2025 with US$81 million treasury as of Q3 2025, underpins Integra's self-funded growth strategy.
  • With Mine Plan of Operations completeness achieved in Q3 2025 and NEPA initiation targeted for early 2026, DeLamar positions Integra as a scarce US growth optionality play for gold and silver investors.

Why This Feasibility Study Matters Now for Mining Investors

The DeLamar Feasibility Study arrives at an inflection point for mining sector capital allocation, where investor priorities have shifted decisively toward execution certainty, capital discipline, and near-term cash generation. Post-cycle risk preferences now favor projects demonstrating simplified flowsheets, lower capital intensity, faster payback periods, and jurisdictions offering regulatory predictability.

Capital Discipline Returns as a Core Investment Differentiator

DeLamar's NPV-to-capital expenditure ratio of 2.0x and 1.8-year payback position the project favorably among heap leach developments globally. The simplified oxide-only strategy eliminates the metallurgical complexity and capital requirements associated with sulphide processing, reducing both build risk and peak funding demands.

George Salamis, President and Chief Executive Officer of Integra Resources, reinforces this strategic prioritization:

"We've taken out the plant, no sulfides, all oxides, heap leach. Simplified that aspect of the project for permitting, capital outlay, and getting it into operation sooner."

US Permitted Project Scarcity as a Structural Valuation Driver

The United States presents a constrained development pipeline for feasibility-stage precious metals projects advancing toward National Environmental Policy Act review. This supply scarcity translates into lower jurisdictional discount rates, strategic optionality, and increased merger and acquisition interest from mid-tier producers seeking domestic growth platforms.

DeLamar FS Economics: Stress-Testing Value Creation Across Price Cycles

The feasibility study economics demonstrate resilience across commodity price scenarios while preserving significant embedded leverage to precious metals upside.

Base Case Economics Confirm Robust Downside Protection

At base case assumptions of US$3,000 per ounce gold and US$35 per ounce silver, DeLamar generates an after-tax NPV5% of US$774 million and internal rate of return of 46 percent. The 1.8-year payback period highlights front-loaded cash flow generation. Life-of-mine AISC of US$1,480 per ounce gold equivalent compares favorably to the industry average of US$1,578 per ounce reported in Q2 2025, providing margin durability across metal price volatility. Life-of-mine site-level cash costs of US$1,179 per ounce gold equivalent reflect structural advantages in deposit geology and mine design.

The NPV-to-capex ratio of 2.0x reflects both cost discipline and production scale across a 10-year operating mine life with an additional two years of residual leaching. Total life-of-mine production of 1.1 million ounces gold equivalent provides economies of scale, with Years 1-5 averaging 119,000 ounces gold equivalent annually to accelerate capital recovery.

Elevated Price Case Demonstrates Embedded Optionality

At elevated pricing of US$4,250 per ounce gold and US$60 per ounce silver, after-tax NPV5% expands to US$1.7 billion with IRR increasing to 89 percent, demonstrating convex exposure to precious metals prices without materially increasing operating risk. This leverage reflects DeLamar's silver endowment, production of 3.9 million ounces over the mine life enhances returns in higher-price environments while maintaining economic viability at conservative base case assumptions.

Operating Profile & Cost Structure Support Margin Durability

DeLamar's operating profile combines technical simplicity with competitive cost positioning, creating a foundation for sustainable free cash flow generation across commodity price cycles.

Oxide-Only Heap Leach Strategy Reduces Technical Risk

The decision to advance exclusively oxide mineralization through conventional heap leach processing eliminates the metallurgical complexity, capital requirements, and operating risk associated with sulphide treatment. Oxide heap leaching represents one of the most technically mature and operationally proven processing methods in gold production, with established recovery rates, lower sustaining capital requirements, and operational flexibility. The simplified flowsheet reduces construction timeline, commissioning risk, and technical expertise required during ramp-up phases.

Competitive Cost Position Reinforces Free Cash Flow Generation

The prioritization of higher-grade zones in early production years drives margin expansion during the critical capital recovery period. The simplified heap leach flowsheet eliminates recovery risk and capital intensity associated with complex metallurgy, allowing investors to capture metal price upside through a lower-risk development pathway.

Design Simplification & Phased Development Lower Execution Risk

The evolution from preliminary feasibility study to current feasibility-level design reflects a deliberate strategic pivot toward constructability, capital efficiency, and execution certainty.

Simplified Layout Improves Constructability

The transition from a single large heap leach facility to two smaller, site-specific operations reduces construction complexity while enhancing operational flexibility. This modular approach allows for sequential development, reducing peak labor requirements. The crushing circuit has been simplified to two-stage crushing, reducing mechanical complexity, maintenance requirements, and build risk.

Infrastructure Leverage & Refining Strategy Reduce Capital Intensity

DeLamar benefits from proximate infrastructure and strategic refining arrangements that materially reduce capital requirements relative to greenfield developments in remote locations.

Proximate Infrastructure as a Hidden Value Driver

Access to electrical transmission infrastructure eliminates the need for new high-voltage construction, reducing both capital expenditure and permitting complexity. Additionally, refining arrangements for doré production avoid duplication of permitted processing capacity and eliminate the technical and permitting requirements associated with establishing new refining facilities.

Water & Footprint Optimization Enhances Permitting Outlook

Feasibility-level water management planning incorporates updated hydrological modeling and conservation measures designed to address evolving regulatory expectations. The reduced project footprint relative to earlier concepts aligns with current environmental, social, and governance priorities while simplifying impact assessments required under NEPA review.

Permitting Visibility & Stakeholder Alignment as Near-Term Catalysts

Permitting timeline visibility represents one of DeLamar's most significant de-risking factors, with feasibility study completion and Mine Plan of Operations completeness positioning the project for NEPA initiation in early 2026.

Clear Federal Permitting Pathway

The Mine Plan of Operations achieved completeness determination by the US Bureau of Land Management in Q3 2025, satisfying key technical requirements necessary for formal NEPA review. Management is targeting NEPA initiation around January 2026, with internal estimates projecting approximately two years for the NEPA review process, subject to regulatory review timelines and agency workload.

Salamis outlines the permitting timeline expectations:

"Our estimation internally is about two years from January, which is when the NEPA process kicks off for us."

Tribal Partnership as a Strategic Advantage

The Relationship Agreement with the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes encompasses stewardship, economic participation, and governance components that align tribal cultural, environmental, and economic interests with mine plan development. Early establishment of formal partnership frameworks materially reduces timeline uncertainty and increases predictability for DeLamar milestones.

Portfolio Context: Cash Flow Today Funding Growth Tomorrow

Integra's strategic positioning extends beyond DeLamar to encompass a producing asset generating immediate cash flow and a broader Great Basin portfolio offering multi-asset diversification.

Florida Canyon as a Self-Funding Engine

Florida Canyon's 2025 production guidance of 70,000 to 75,000 ounces gold provides the financial foundation supporting corporate growth initiatives while limiting equity dilution. The operation's treasury position of approximately US$81 million as of Q3 2025 demonstrates the cash generation capability supporting development activities.

Salamis details Florida Canyon's strategic role:

"We have a treasury of approximately $63 million. We're making cash flow… We're fully funded to do everything that we need to do, the margins are great. Now it's doing much more than that, and it's paying the bills across the board."

The operation's 2025 all-in sustaining costs of US$2,450 to US$2,550 per ounce reflect significant capital reinvestment underway, including US$48 million to US$53 million in sustaining capital and US$8 million to US$10 million in growth capital. The company maintains downside price protection through puts to US$2,750 per ounce, locking in margins that guarantee cash flows for ongoing reinvestment and growth.

Mine Life Extension Work Provides Operational Continuity

Florida Canyon's current six-year mine life is being extended through evaluation of stockpiled material that was previously uneconomic at lower gold prices. Growth drilling is designed to support an updated mine life plan expected in 2026, with updated reserve estimates at higher gold price assumptions naturally increasing economic resources.

Pipeline Optionality Across the Great Basin

Integra's portfolio includes 7.0 million ounces gold equivalent in measured and indicated resources across Florida Canyon, DeLamar, and Nevada North assets. Multi-asset exposure reduces single-project risk for equity holders while providing operational flexibility to sequence development based on commodity prices, permitting progress, and capital availability.

Embedded Upside Not Captured in the Feasibility Case

The feasibility study deliberately excludes significant resource upside to maintain conservative economic assumptions, creating embedded optionality.

Sulphide Resource as Long-Dated Optionality

A large measured and indicated sulphide resource remains excluded from the current mine plan, preserving expansion optionality beyond the initial oxide operation. The decision to advance oxides first allows operational cash flow to fund potential future sulphide development, avoiding the need to finance both processing strategies simultaneously during initial construction.

District-Scale Exploration Potential

Near-mine expansion targets and underexplored land holdings across the district provide additional upside beyond the feasibility case resource base. DeLamar's silver endowment, 3.9 million ounces over the mine life, enhances strategic relevance. The combination of precious metals exposure, district-scale land position, and proven mineralization system creates multiple vectors for resource expansion.

The Investment Thesis for Integra Resources

  • Capital efficiency demonstrated through high NPV-to-capex ratio of 2.0x and sub-two-year payback aligns with institutional capital discipline requirements and addresses post-cycle investor preferences for rapid cash generation.
  • Jurisdictional positioning within established US mining districts offering regulatory predictability and permitting framework clarity provides lower discount rates and strategic optionality relative to less-developed jurisdictions.
  • Cash-backed growth strategy utilizing Florida Canyon operating cash flow and treasury position of US$81 million as of Q3 2025 reduces dilution risk and supports development sequencing without reliance on equity markets during construction phases.
  • Leverage with resilience enables investors to capture convex exposure to gold and silver price appreciation through simplified heap leach design that eliminates complex metallurgical risk while maintaining margin durability at base case assumptions.
  • Strategic optionality preserved through unmodelled sulphide resources and district-scale exploration upside provides multiple pathways for value creation beyond the conservative feasibility case economic assumptions.
  • Permitting visibility enhanced through Mine Plan of Operations completeness determination achieved in Q3 2025 and tribal partnership agreements materially reduces timeline uncertainty relative to earlier-stage development projects lacking stakeholder alignment.
  • Management execution capability strengthened through strategic team additions including Chief Operating Officer Clifford Lafleur from SilverCrest Metals, Vice President Finance Sean Deissner, and permitting specialist Dale Kerner from Perpetua Resources, bringing proven development and operational experience.

Why the DeLamar Feasibility Study Changes the Risk-Reward Equation

The DeLamar Feasibility Study represents a material inflection point in Integra's development trajectory, transitioning the asset from preliminary concept to feasibility-complete project with technical documentation supporting federal permitting initiation. The evolution toward simplified design, capital efficiency, and construction certainty directly addresses the factors investors prioritize when allocating capital to development-stage mining projects.

Enhanced economics combining robust base case returns with significant precious metals leverage, coupled with materially reduced execution risk through design optimization and infrastructure advantages, position DeLamar as a differentiated growth opportunity within the constrained US development pipeline. The combination of producing asset cash flow, permitting advancement through Mine Plan of Operations completeness, and preserved exploration upside creates a risk-adjusted return profile increasingly difficult to identify among precious metals developers globally.

For investors seeking US gold and silver exposure through a capital-disciplined growth platform backed by operating cash flow and advancing toward federal permitting within established regulatory frameworks, the DeLamar Feasibility Study fundamentally strengthens the investment case while expanding the range of potential valuation outcomes as the project advances through development phases.

TL;DR

Integra Resources' December 2025 DeLamar Feasibility Study de-risks one of the few large-scale US gold-silver projects advancing toward federal permitting. The study confirms strong economics: US$774 million after-tax NPV at base case pricing, 46% IRR, and rapid 1.8-year payback on US$389 million initial capital. The simplified oxide-only heap leach design reduces execution risk while preserving leverage to higher metal prices, with NPV expanding to US$1.7 billion at elevated assumptions. Cash flow from Florida Canyon (70,000-75,000 oz gold in 2025) and an US$81 million treasury support self-funded development. Mine Plan of Operations completeness achieved in Q3 2025 positions the project for NEPA initiation in early 2026.

FAQs (AI-Generated)

What are DeLamar's base case economics? +

At US$3,000/oz gold and US$35/oz silver, DeLamar generates an after-tax NPV5% of US$774 million, 46% IRR, and 1.8-year payback. Life-of-mine AISC is US$1,480/oz gold equivalent across 1.1 million ounces production over a 10-year mine life.

How does the simplified heap leach design reduce project risk? +

The oxide-only strategy eliminates metallurgical complexity and capital requirements associated with sulphide processing. Two-stage crushing and modular heap facilities reduce construction timeline, commissioning risk, and peak funding demands compared to earlier development concepts.

What is the permitting timeline for DeLamar? +

Mine Plan of Operations completeness was achieved in Q3 2025, with NEPA initiation targeted for January 2026. Management estimates approximately two years for the NEPA review process, subject to regulatory timelines.

How does Florida Canyon support DeLamar's development? +

Florida Canyon's 2025 production of 70,000-75,000 ounces gold and US$81 million treasury position provide cash flow that funds corporate growth initiatives, reducing equity dilution and supporting development without reliance on capital markets.

What upside exists beyond the feasibility study economics? +

Significant sulphide resources remain excluded from the mine plan, preserving expansion optionality. District-scale exploration potential and 3.9 million ounces of silver production provide additional vectors for value creation beyond conservative feasibility assumptions.

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