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Integra Resources Expands Florida Canyon Drilling Program Following Promising Gold Results

Integra Resources expands Florida Canyon drilling 60% after initial oxide gold results exceed cut-off grades in 70% of intercepts from North Dump area.

  • Integra Resources expanded its 2025 Florida Canyon drilling program from 10,000 meters to 16,000 meters following successful initial results from near-surface oxide gold drilling.
  • Initial drilling at the North Mine Dump achieved broad gold mineralization intervals, with 70% of intercepts exceeding the current mine cut-off grade of 0.11 g/t Au.
  • Top intercepts from the North Dump include 0.36 g/t oxide gold over 71.6 meters and 0.37 g/t oxide gold over 47.2 meters, demonstrating consistent grade continuity.
  • Inter-pit drilling between existing open pits confirmed gold mineralization potential, with 40% of Radio Tower Pit intercepts exceeding cut-off grades.
  • The company expects the 2025 drill program to support a mineral resource and reserve update with a revised life-of-mine plan in the first half of 2026.

Integra Resources Corp. (TSXV: ITR; NYSE American: ITRG) operates the Florida Canyon Mine in Nevada as its primary operating asset. The company acquired Florida Canyon in late 2024 as part of a growth strategy focused on expanding mineral reserves and resources while extending mine life. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Integra is implementing a multi-year growth strategy designed to enhance the value of its Nevada gold operations. President, CEO and Director George Salamis emphasized:

"A key driver behind the acquisition of Florida Canyon in late 2024 was not only the cash flow that the mine could generate, but also the significant near-mine growth potential."

Integra Resources expanded its 2025 Florida Canyon drilling program from 10,000 meters to 16,000 meters following successful initial results from near-surface oxide gold drilling. Initial drilling at the North Mine Dump achieved broad gold mineralization intervals, with 70% of intercepts exceeding the current mine cut-off grade of 0.11 g/t Au. Top intercepts from the North Dump include 0.36 g/t oxide gold over 71.6 meters and 0.37 g/t oxide gold over 47.2 meters, demonstrating consistent grade continuity. Inter-pit drilling between existing open pits confirmed gold mineralization potential, with 40% of Radio Tower Pit intercepts exceeding cut-off grades. The company expects the 2025 drill program to support a mineral resource and reserve update with a revised life-of-mine plan in the first half of 2026.

Initial Drilling Results Exceed Expectations

The 2025 growth drilling program at Florida Canyon has delivered encouraging results across two key opportunity areas. The program initially targeted 10,000 meters of reverse circulation and sonic drilling but has been expanded to 16,000 meters based on early success. As of the announcement date, approximately 5,700 meters of RC drilling had been completed. CEO George Salamis noted:

"Based on the success of initial drilling, the Company has increased the scope of the drill program by ~6,000 meters."

The drilling focused on three primary areas: near-surface oxide potential from historical low-grade gold-mineralized waste material, expanding in-situ resources between existing mine open pits, and testing lateral extensions with in-pit infill drilling. The program represents the first phase of a multi-year strategy to grow the asset's resource base.

North Mine Dump Delivers Consistent Gold Grades

The North Mine Dump emerged as the standout target area, with drilling results confirming broad, near-surface intervals of oxide gold mineralization. The area contains large volumes of historical gold-mineralized low-grade waste material that was previously uneconomic at lower gold prices but now presents opportunities in the current gold price environment.

Key results from the North Dump included several significant intercepts. Drill hole FCM25-0569 returned 0.28 grams per tonne oxide gold over 68.6 meters, while FCM25-0570 achieved 0.36 g/t oxide gold over 71.6 meters. The most notable result came from FCM25-0575, which returned 0.37 g/t oxide gold over 47.2 meters, including a higher-grade section of 4.53 g/t oxide gold over 1.5 meters.

The consistency of results proved particularly encouraging for investors. Approximately 70% of drill intercepts from the North Dump exceeded the current mine cut-off grade of 0.11 g/t Au, demonstrating the potential for near-term resource conversion. The drilling confirmed gold grade continuity and distribution while collecting material for metallurgical testing, including bottle rolls, column tests, and permeability assessments. CEO George Salamis expressed satisfaction with these results:

"We are very encouraged by the initial results from our 2025 drill program, particularly from the high-priority North Dump area. Broad, consistent oxide gold-mineralized intercepts confirm excellent grade continuity and underscore the potential to grow resources and extend mine life."

Inter-Pit Areas Show Expansion Potential

The secondary focus on Inter-Pit drilling between existing open pits also delivered positive results. These "saddle" and "ridge" areas located between active and historical pits have been sparsely drilled historically but offer meaningful growth potential adjacent to current and future mining phases.

Notable intercepts from Inter-Pit areas included FCM25-0588, which returned 0.47 g/t Au over 39.6 meters from the North Pit area. The Central/Radio Tower Saddle area produced several significant results, with FCM25-0591 returning 0.27 g/t Au over 114.3 meters and FCM25-0600 achieving 0.25 g/t oxide Au over 73.2 meters.

Performance varied by location within the Inter-Pit areas. Approximately 40% of drill intercepts within the Radio Tower Pit exceeded the current mine cut-off grade of 0.14 g/t Au, while 35% of intercepts from remaining Inter-Pit areas exceeded the cut-off grade of 0.11 g/t Au. The results support potential pit expansion opportunities, particularly between the Central and Radio Tower Pits. Salamis highlighted the significance of these findings:

"We also see promising results from the drilling in the Inter-Pit areas, which suggest the potential for pit expansions."

Metallurgical Testing & Technical Considerations

The drilling program has collected extensive material for metallurgical testing to assess potential gold recoveries and ore characteristics. Preliminary indications suggest favorable heap leach characteristics, which could support the economic viability of the identified mineralization. The company is conducting bottle roll leach tests, column tests, and permeability assessments on material gathered through the drill program.

Technical considerations include the presence of sulfide content exceeding 1% in some reported intervals within Inter-Pit areas, as determined by laboratory analysis. These sulfide concentrations may impact metallurgical recoveries and are not necessarily representative of the bulk tonnage of the zone. Further metallurgical testing is required to accurately characterize recovery profiles for both oxide and sulfide material encountered in drilling.

The historical dump material presents particular advantages for future operations. The material offers potential to increase operational flexibility by providing readily available, gold-mineralized material suitable for heap leaching that will not require blasting. This could improve near- to medium-term ore feed without significant capital investment while potentially reducing reliance on higher-strip in-situ material. Management emphasized the economic attractiveness of this approach, with Salamis noting:

"Pursuing low-strip, near-surface gold-mineralized material at Florida Canyon in the current gold price environment offers compelling rationale."

The company looks forward to sharing continued progress as drilling advances through the summer and fall.

Resource Update Timeline & Future Plans

Integra has outlined a clear timeline for converting drilling results into updated resources and reserves. Preliminary volume and grade estimation work is underway for both the North Dump and South Dump areas, with further detail expected in the coming months. The 2025 drill program at Florida Canyon and supporting analysis is expected to support a mineral resource and reserve update and a revised life-of-mine plan in the first half of 2026.

The expanded drilling program will focus additional efforts on the North Dump and South Dump areas, with emphasis on resource and reserve conversion and gathering additional material for ongoing metallurgical testing. The success within identified Inter-Pit areas has the potential to meaningfully increase mineral resources and reserves by extending existing pit limits within the current Florida Canyon Mine Plan of Operations.

Investment Implications & Market Context

The drilling results arrive at a favorable time for gold miners, with current gold prices providing economic viability for previously sub-economic material. The ability to potentially convert historical waste dumps into productive resources represents a relatively low-cost path to resource growth compared to traditional exploration programs.

The near-surface nature of the identified mineralization offers additional advantages, including reduced mining costs and faster potential development timelines. The oxide nature of much of the mineralization also supports heap leach processing, which typically involves lower capital and operating costs compared to conventional milling operations.

For investors, the key metrics to monitor will be the upcoming resource and reserve update in the first half of 2026, along with the revised life-of-mine plan. The success of the expanded drilling program through the summer and fall of 2025 will provide additional data points for evaluating the growth potential of the Florida Canyon asset.

For Investors

Integra Resources has demonstrated early success in its 2025 growth drilling program at Florida Canyon, with results supporting the strategic rationale behind the asset acquisition. The 60% expansion of the drilling program based on initial results indicates management confidence in the growth potential of both the North Mine Dump and Inter-Pit areas.

For investors evaluating Integra Resources, the combination of existing cash flow generation from Florida Canyon operations and the demonstrated near-mine growth potential creates a compelling value proposition. The company's ability to potentially convert historical waste material into productive resources at relatively low cost, combined with the favorable current gold price environment, positions the asset for potential mine life extension and enhanced returns. The upcoming resource and reserve update in H1 2026 will provide critical data for assessing the full impact of the current drilling program on the company's long-term prospects.

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