i-80 Gold Closes $250 Million Royalty Financing with Franco-Nevada and Completes Retirement of Certain Legacy Debt Obligations

All amounts referenced herein are expressed in United States dollars unless otherwise stated.

TORONTO, March 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ – i-80 GOLD CORP. (TSX:IAU) (NYSE American:IAUX) („i-80 Gold“ or the „Company“) is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed the closing of the previously announced $250 million royalty financing (the „Royalty Financing“) with a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Franco-Nevada Corporation („Franco-Nevada“). The Company used a portion of the Royalty Financing proceeds to complete the mandatory redemption of its 8% secured convertible debentures due in 2027 („2027 Convertible Debentures“) and to settle a convertible loan and Gold Prepay Agreement held by affiliates of Orion Mine Finance („Orion“).

„Together, these transactions represent a major step forward in the Company’s recapitalization, significantly strengthening the balance sheet and positioning i-80 Gold to continue advancing its development plan towards becoming a mid-tier gold producer in Nevada,“ said Richard Young, President & Chief Executive Officer. „We thank Orion, Franco-Nevada and our debenture holders for assisting the Company in advancing its prospective portfolio of projects.“ 

Completion of Franco-Nevada Royalty Financing

Pursuant to the Royalty Financing, Franco-Nevada is paying $250 million to the Company in exchange for a 1.5% life-of-mine („LOM“) net smelter return royalty („NSR“), stepping up to a 3.0% LOM net smelter return royalty on January 1, 2031. The royalty payable to Franco-Nevada applies to production from all mineral properties in the Company’s portfolio. At closing, a total of $225 million of the Royalty Financing was advanced to the Company with approximately $165 million used to extinguish the legacy debt obligations described below, with the remaining balance to be used to advance the Mineral Point open pit oxide project and construction of the Archimedes underground project. In total, $50 million of the Royalty Financing has been dedicated to advancing Mineral Point infill drilling, engineering and early-stage permitting in 2026, supporting a pre-feasibility study anticipated for completion in 2027. The remaining $25 million of the Royalty Financing is payable following the expenditure of an initial $25 million allocated for Mineral Point, which is expected to be made available later this year.