Simplified Strategy To Advance Permitting And Development Of Gold-Silver Heap Leaching At Delamar Project

VANCOUVER - Integra Resources Corp. reported on the exploration program to expand the Oxide and Mixed resource at its DeLamar Project while advancing the heap leach stage of the project into permitting and development on a stand-alone basis. The simple, low-cost, low-risk strategy to focus on the financial engine of the Project, the heap leach, does not negate the strong optionality of the project in multiple areas. Exploration efforts going forward will target heap leachable material to expand the heap leach life-of-mine.

Advancing the DeLamar gold-silver project towards permitting and development of the heap leach stage as a stand-alone mining operation, is a far lower cost, lower risk option for the Company and its shareholders, creating strong economic returns and rapid payback. In these inflationary times, with increased scrutiny on permitting of all resource projects, this is the optimal strategy for the Company and its shareholders, as it vastly reduces execution risk.

George Salamis, President, CEO and Director, said, “Integra’s 2022 DeLamar PFS highlighted an abundance of optionality derived from a myriad of development scenarios to advance the asset. The core financial engine of the DeLamar project is the heap leach. Based on data provided in the PFS, and despite the fact that the project was costed out during a period of high inflation, the heap leach operation at DeLamar showed solid returns with an after-tax NPV(5%) of US$314 million and an after-tax IRR of 33% at US1,700/oz Au and US$21.50/oz Ag and produces close to 1 M ozs of gold equivalent on its own. Leverage to higher gold and silver prices amplifies the economics, with an after-tax NPV(5%) of US$435 million and an after-tax IRR of 43% at US$1,900 Au and US$24.03 Ag. During the 8-year heap leach operation, the Project averages 136,000 ozs per year AuEq with a site level AISC of US$814/oz Au Eq. The Company will advance permitting of the heap leach operation while preserving the optionality presented in the PFS in terms of other development scenarios, once in production. The heap leach stand-alone strategy will result in total project capital savings of over US$235 million and a decrease in site level AISC of 15%. The strategy also simplifies the future permitting, financing and construction plans since permitting and financing the heap-leach as a stand-alone mine without the mill initially, is viewed as a lower risk strategy. When fully developed, DeLamar has the potential to become one of the lowest cost and largest heap-leach mining operations in North America that is not currently owned by a major producer.

DeLamar’s robust heap leach economics in the PFS can be further enhanced through the addition of heap leachable Oxide and Mixed resources into future mine plans, with obvious high potential Oxide resource additions occurring near planned mining and processing infrastructure. Heap-leachable resource expansion upside potential is clearly the lowest-hanging-fruit on the project and provides the lowest cost means of adding to future production profiles and mine life. Our exploration team has identified numerous Oxide and Mixed gold-silver targets over our large 5,220-hectare land package, the most attractive being low-grade stockpiles at surface from mining that occurred on site from the 1970s-1990s. Other targets occur on extension from existing resources, hosting recent and historically drilled intercepts that demonstrate bulk tonnage, gold-silver Oxide and Mixed intercepts from 25 m to 100 m in thickness, at average grades consistent with our currently contemplated PFS heap leach gold-silver grades.”

The Company will continue to assess timing for development of the mill and related operations based on market factors and other variables in the future, once the heap-leach mine is fully operational. Additional enhancements to the future Non-oxide processing as well as potential high-grade gold-silver from Florida Mountain will continue to be studied and explored; however, incorporating these options after permitting for the heap leach stage presents a much lower-risk investment scenario for the Company and its shareholders. The ability to advance a simple, low-capital intensity and highly economic heap leach stand-alone gold-silver mine operation while preserving future optionality will be the focus of permitting, development and exploration on the Project in the near term.