Shares of i-80 Gold Corp rose 2.7% in after-hours trading Thursday after the company published drill results from the Archimedes Underground Project and issued a timeline update for related technical studies.
The drill data come from the 2025-2026 infill campaign conducted within the upper 426 zone at Archimedes, part of the Ruby Hill property in northeastern Nevada. Management said the Archimedes development program remains on track to deliver first gold in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Alongside the drill results, i-80 said it has extended the target timing for feasibility-level technical studies for the Granite Creek underground and Cove underground projects from the second quarter of 2026 to the third quarter of 2026. The company described this as part of ongoing optimization of development plan sequencing.
Highlighted assay results from the upper 426 zone include several high-grade intervals: 16.2 grams per tonne (g/t) gold across 56.4 meters in hole iAU26-09; 21.9 g/t gold across 20.2 meters in hole iAU26-11; and 11.0 g/t gold across 26.1 meters in hole iAU26-13. i-80 estimated true widths to be roughly 40% to 65% of the reported core widths.
The 2025-2026 infill program within the upper 426 zone was completed on schedule and within budget. The campaign totaled about 8,500 meters of drilling across 40 drill holes. Infill drilling began in the fourth quarter of 2025 and was finished in April 2026.
Separately, the company initiated an infill drilling program in the lower portion of the 426 zone and in the Ruby Deeps zone in the second quarter of 2026. That program targets approximately 55,000 meters of drilling planned across about 140 drill holes in support of the planned Archimedes Feasibility Study. As of the update, five underground drill rigs have been mobilized to site and two additional underground rigs are expected to arrive in July.
i-80 said it expects to complete the Archimedes feasibility study late in the first quarter of 2027.
Resource figures reported as of December 31, 2025 remain unchanged in the update: Archimedes hosts an Indicated Mineral Resource totaling 1.8 million tonnes containing 436,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 7.6 g/t, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 4.2 million tonnes containing 988,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 7.3 g/t.
Market and operational impact
- The after-hours share price movement reflects investor reaction to both drilling results and adjusted study timing.
- Ongoing drilling and planning activity affects project development schedules and will feed into the forthcoming Archimedes Feasibility Study.
- Mobilization of additional underground rigs signals continued investment in delineation and feasibility work ahead of the planned study completion date.