9 Best Junior Gold Mining Stocks to Buy Now

3. i-80 Gold Corp. (NYSE:IAUX)

Share Price: $1.51

Market Capitalization: $1.25 Billion

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 21

i-80 Gold Corp. (NYSE:IAUX) is one of the best junior gold mining stocks to buy now.

On December 18, i-80 Gold Corp. (NYSE:IAUX) reported major refurbishment progress of its Lone Tree Plant in North Nevada. The company shared results from Hatch’s engineering study, which outlined the refurbishment of the plant, indicating the ability to process sulfide and oxide gold-bearing feed at 2,268 tonnes per day.

The management highlighted that their goal is to become a mid-tier gold producer through transitioning from toll mining to an owner-operator processing model. This could reduce costs by one-third and increase margins by nearly $1,000 to $1,500 per ounce of gold. i-80 Gold has a new $430 million capital benchmark per the recent study, higher than previous expectations, with a potential payback of 1 to 2 years. The company expects construction activities to begin during the second half of 2026. Paul Chawrun, COO at  i-80 Gold, said,

With approximately 30% of detailed engineering now complete, this level of technical definition provides significantly improved accuracy in our capital cost estimate.”

i-80 Gold Corp. (NYSE:IAUX) remains one of the two companies in Nevada with an autoclave facility, adding to its potential and setting eyes on its targeted objectives. Over the past six months, IAUX shares have soared by more than 138%, as of January 5, reflecting strong investor sentiment amid a promising outlook for its Lone Tree Plant.

i-80 Gold Corp. (NYSE:IAUX) is a development-stage mining company. i-80 Gold explores for, develops, and produces gold, silver, and polymetallic deposits in the U.S.