IMLAY – High gold prices are a boon for Integra Resources Corp. as the new owner of the Florida Canyon Mine in Pershing County. Florida Canyon is Integra’s only gold producer until its exploration projects in Nevada and a project in Idaho are in operation.
“We’re definitely happy about the gold prices now. It’s a good time to mine in Nevada. We’ve got good exploration here, and it’s a good time to invest in resources,” said Florida Canyon’s general manager, Greg Robinson.
Florida Canyon Mine’s general manager, Greg Robinson, left, looks over the open pit operation with Emily Hendrickson, Integra Resources Corp.’s U.S. external affairs representative, and Phil Schoenig, mining superintendent.
Florida Canyon also had “pretty good production in the first quarter, but we haven’t put out guidance for this year yet,” he said.
Robinson became general manager at Florida Canyon in April 2023 after working 10 years for Coeur Mining’s Rochester Mine, also in Pershing County.
Florida Canyon is a small mine that has been in operation since 1986, interrupted by a couple of temporary shutdowns. The mine produced 19,323 ounces of gold in the first quarter of this year.
Integra Resources Corp. is mining open pits at the Florida Canyon Mine near Imlay south of Interstate 80. The Central Pit is in the middle, Jasperoid at right, and North Pit at left. At the rear is Radio Towers Pit.
Robinson said the production for the quarter was augmented with an efficiency project recovering 2,000 ounces, but “that was a one-time thing.” That recovered gold was confined within an electrowinning tank.
There are other ongoing efficiency projects in metallurgy and engineering, however, that “we just started kicking off,” he said.
Strong gold production was further supported by the continued ramp-up of solution flow rates through the heap leach pad and new carbon-in-column circuit commissioned in late 2024, Vancouver-based Integra said in its production announcement.
Two 100-ton Caterpillar trucks pass each other at Integra Resources’ Florida Canyon Mine in late April 2025. One was filled with material and the other was heading to the loader for a fill-up.
Gold prices broke record after record in the first months of this year, reaching heights of more than $3,400 an ounce, and Integra’s stock also rose with gold prices, hitting a 52-week high in April of $1.95 per share.
Florida Canyon's anticipated mine life extends to the first quarter of 2030, and Integra’s Nevada North exploration projects would add mine life for Florida Canyon, too, because of potential synergies.
“The synergies could be significant, with all the infrastructure here,” Robinson said. Emily Hendrickson, who handles external affairs in the United States for Integra, said there would be savings with supply volume, too.
Job openings
Florida Canyon Mine has 285 employees, and “we’re hiring,” said Sherry Murphy, human resources manager. “Right now, it’s primarily equipment operators because of the increased size of the fleet.”
Florida Canyon has 17 100-ton Caterpillar haul trucks, and the mine has additional leased haul trucks and is working on permanent purchases, Robinson said. He also reported Integra hopes to acquire an electric shovel next year for Florida Canyon, but for now uses loaders.
Phil Schoenig, left, mining superintendent at Florida Canyon Mine in Pershing County, talks with loader operator Wade Stark of Lovelock. Stark said he has spent seven years at the Florida Canyon operations, and works 12.5-hour shifts, with four days on and five days off.
Murphy said 67% of Florida Canyon employees live in Winnemucca, 16% in Lovelock, and the remainder in the surrounding area. They receive a transportation allowance rather than the company providing buses.
She also said the turnover rate has dropped from 23% when she started with Florida Canyon three years ago to 13% in 2024, “so there is significant improvement. It says something about the shifts in policies and improvements in benefits.”
Maria Mora of Winnemucca, who is working on ore samples, said the Florida Canyon laboratory splits samples, pulverizes samples, builds test columns, does fire assays and more. She has been working at Florida Canyon operations for almost a year.
“It’s an exciting time to work here,” Robinson said. “We are one of the few family-oriented gold mines. We have a good workforce, production is high, and gold prices are high, and we’re excited to be part of Integra now.”
Hendrickson said Integra is family-oriented, too, and it made sense for Integra and Florida Canyon to come together.
“One of the things Integra does is good community relations. Integra puts emphasis on transparency and on communities,” she said.
Jesus Gonzales is pulverizing ore samples in the laboratory at the Florida Canyon Mine 33 miles northeast of Lovelock.
“We want to be a company that communities in the region want to see operate here,” she said. Robinson said they want the community to know they are a “conscientious and environmentally respectable company.”
Florida Canyon has changed hands several times over the years, but he said Integra hopes to break that cycle.
“We’re here for the long haul,” Robinson said.
Jamee Lee of Winnemucca is dispatching haul trucks at Integra Resources’ Florida Canyon Mine from her station above the open pits. Lee said she has worked at Florida Canyon for five years.
Florida Canyon produced 18,515 gold equivalent ounces in the first quarter of last year, when it was still owned by Argonaut Gold. Alamos Gold acquired Argonaut and spun off Florida Canyon and mines in Mexico, forming Florida Canyon Gold Inc.
Integra purchased the Florida Canyon Mine, and the mines in Mexico were sold separately. Integra completed the acquisition of Florida Canyon Gold on Nov. 8, 2024.
The gold mine’s first owner was Pegasus Gold, which went bankrupt. Other past owners have included Apollo Gold, Jipango Inc., ADM Gold Co., Rye Patch, and Alio Gold.
Open pit mining
At Florida Canyon, material is mined from the main pit, called Central, the C1 and C7 pits, Radio Towers open pit, the North Pit, and Jasperoid open pit. From an overlook, the individual pits aren’t easily distinguished, but blend together.
“We will mine all of those this year,” Robinson said.
He also said Florida Canyon is using its South Leach Pad, and High Mark Construction is starting a new extension to the pad this summer.
“We built half of the leach pad extension last year and are just starting the other half this year. We will be finishing up this summer.”
The North Leach Pad is in reclamation, after closure in 2015.
Crushed ore and run-of-mine ore that doesn’t go through the crusher is placed on the leach pad for the leaching process involving cyanide. The solution goes on to the next steps, including processing through carbon columns, and the entire process culminates in bars of gold.
“We do half and half—crushing and run-of-mine,” said Robinson.
A Caterpillar loader with a 15-yard bucket is filling a 100-ton Caterpillar haul truck in the North Pit at Integra Resources’ Florida Canyon Mine in Pershing County.
Robinson said current exploration is focused on Florida Canyon, but there is still a chance the company will mine again at Standard, which was mined in the past as part of Florida Canyon operations. The Standard Mine is five miles away.
“It’s definitely a possibility with current gold prices,” he said.
Jipangu received U.S. Bureau of Land Management approval in 2010 to mine at Standard, and up to three years of mining were anticipated at that time, according to Elko Daily Free Press archives.
Florida Canyon operators in the past also explored the potential of mining sulfide ores at Florida Canyon, but Robinson said there wasn’t enough potential to pursue processing sulfide ores. Sulfide ores generally require processing that involves a roaster or autoclave.
The mining operation on 18,631 acres of mostly public land managed by the BLM doesn’t require any dewatering because it is above the water table. All the water is used and recycled in operations, so there is zero discharge. The water on site isn’t drinkable. In fact, it is hot.
“Water comes in at 230 degrees,” he said, so the water is cooled before going into tanks for processing and dust control.
Drilling for gold
Integra said in a May announcement that the company has launched its 2025 drill program at Florida Canyon that will consist of about 32,810 feet of drilling on near-mine targets, with three key targets for drilling into the third quarter of this year.
One of the three key targets is near-surface oxide potential from historical gold-mineralized waste material that was considered below cut-off grade at lower gold prices. The material is a byproduct of decades of past mining and has been identified as a high-potential, low-strip, near-surface oxide gold target, Integra wrote.
A view of the rebuild yard at Integra Resources’ Florida Canyon operations in Pershing County. The mine started in 1986, and Integra acquired it in late 2024.
Another target is to focus on “saddle” and “ridge” areas located between active and historical pits to look for oxide ore potential. Several areas are sparsely drilled and offer significant gold potential, according to Integra.
The final target is to test lateral extensions and in-pit infill drilling at existing pits, and in areas planned for further pit pushbacks. Integra stated that these areas offer potential to improve resource classification, optimize mine planning, and potentially increase short-term gold ore feed to the leach pads.
“Following a strong start to 2025 with solid operational results from Florida Canyon gold production and a demonstrated ability to generate cash flow, we are pleased to launch a growth-focused drill program,” Integra’s president and chief executive officer, George Salamis, said in the announcement.
Florida Canyon’s crusher operation is at right in this overview of Integra Resources Corp.’s mine southwest of Winnemucca.
“We see this program as a critical step in unlocking the next phase of value at Florida Canyon. We have identified significant potential to not only optimize the mining operation, but also to increase the production scale and mine life of the asset, leading to material value creation for Integra’s shareholders,” he said.
Integra stated that Florida Canyon has produced roughly 2.7 million ounces of gold since 1986, and building on the mine’s history, the company believes there is significant near-mine resource growth potential within the current permitted plan.
Integra reported that the company has budgeted $1.5 million for the first phase of the exploration program.
Nevada North & DeLamar
As for Nevada North, which includes the Wildcat and Mountain View deposits, Wildcat received U.S. Bureau of Land Management permitting in the spring for a major exploration project on site. Wildcat is roughly 40 miles west of Florida Canyon. Mountain View is at Gerlach in Washoe County.
Robinson said Florida Canyon employees could potentially “slide over to Wildcat” for mine operations, and Florida Canyon equipment could be used at Wildcat.
Integra also is in the permitting stage with the BLM for its DeLamar Project in southwestern Idaho, a gold and silver site where there was mining in the past, and which Integra plans to mine again.
Once permitted and after construction, DeLamar could be in production in 2028, Hendrickson said.
She said the project didn’t make the government’s initial list of FAST-41 transparency projects, although Integra hoped it would. The federal government has said the additional projects will continue to be added to the list, so DeLamar still could make the cut.
The FAST-41 program chose 10 mining projects in April and a second set of 10 projects in early May to be listed on a website which can help expedite the review process. The first 20 projects selected to get the FAST-41 transparency designation included two projects in Idaho—Perpetua Resources’ Stibnite gold and antimony project and Bayer’s Caldwell Canyon phosphate mine project – and three projects in Nevada—Albemarle’s Silver Peak lithium mine expansion project, Hecla’s Aurora property gold exploration project, and the 3PL Railroad Valley lithium exploration project.
Integra Resources’ Florida Canyon Mine sign was recently installed at the entrance near the small community of Imlay 40 miles southwest of Winnemucca. Integra acquired the mine last November.
Robinson also reported that Florida Canyon has a strong safety record, and the last lost-time accident was in October 2023.
“We’re really proud of the safety culture here,” he said.
Eight employees and one contractor won safety awards from the Nevada Mining Association in 2024, and Murphy said 14 nominations were put forth for this year. 
