i-80 Gold (TSX: IAU) closed the first quarter of 2025 with a net loss of $41.2 million, sharply widening from the $19.7 million loss reported a year earlier, despite a rising gold price environment.
While revenue climbed 67% to $14.0 million, primarily due to increased gold sales and a significantly higher average realized gold price of $2,825 per ounce (up from $2,063 per ounce in Q1 2024), the jump was far from sufficient to counterbalance mounting operational and financial expenses. Gross profit reached $2.9 million compared to a loss of $0.3 million in the prior year, but losses from operations remained severe at $15.8 million, nearly flat year-over-year, as exploration, pre-development, general and administrative, and property maintenance costs continued to weigh heavily.
The quarterly loss was further exacerbated by $17.7 million in revaluation losses tied to gold prepay and silver purchase agreements, a sharp reversal from the $4.4 million gain in the same quarter last year.
Total gold ounces sold increased 22% to 4,952 ounces, driven largely by the ramp-up at Granite Creek, which sold 3,106 ounces at an average price of $2,799 per ounce. However, other properties such as Lone Tree saw declining output, falling from 2,042 ounces to 1,394 ounces, despite a modest increase in price to $2,833 per ounce.
Cash flow from operations remained deeply negative at $22.7 million, a marginal improvement from the $25.2 million outflow last year. The company ended the quarter with just $13.5 million in unrestricted cash, down from $19.0 million at year-end. This puts the current assets balance at $44.9 million while current liabilities ended at $85.7 million.
Operationally, i-80 Gold pushed forward with project development, completing 15,000 feet of delineation drilling at its Cove Project and securing Bureau of Land Management approval to initiate underground portal construction at Archimedes. Preliminary economic assessments for all five of the company’s gold assets were filed on schedule, collectively valuing the portfolio at $1.6 billion in after-tax NPV using a 5% discount rate and $2,175 per ounce gold price.
However, none of the projects have yet reached steady-state production, and CEO Richard Young acknowledged that the company remains “in a period of balance sheet constraints.”
i-80 Gold last traded at $0.80 on the TSX.
Information for this briefing was found via the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
