Hycroft Mine Commences Production from Sulfide Ores as Ramp Up Begins on Life of Mine Plan with a Projected $2.1 Billion NPV and 30+ Year Mine Life

• Life of Mine Plan based on a robust third-party Feasibility Study completed by M3 Engineering and the Company, incorporating resources modeled by SRK Consulting (Reno, NV) (the “Feasibility Study”), for the Company’s proprietary sulfide oxidation and heap leach process resulting in a projected life-of-mine (“LOM”) net present value (“NPV”) of $2.1 billion (at a 5% discount rate), a LOM after-tax internal rate of return (“IRR”) of 147.5%, and a payback period of 2.6 years¹;
• Active mining operations commenced at the Hycroft Mine in the second quarter of 2019 with a focus on preparing the mine for the sulfide oxidation and heap leach process;
• Existing crushing facility, Merrill-Crowe plant, refinery, and mobile mine fleet rebuilt, commissioned, and operating;
• Hycroft’s current workforce totals 120 people and continues to grow, supported by contractors and temporary labor;
• Company is in discussions with respect to a complete financial recapitalization plan to better position the Company for the successful ramp-up of the Hycroft mine and future growth, including the recent execution of a $110 million senior secured credit facility and an agreement for the purchase of a 1.5% net smelter royalty for $30 million arranged by Sprott Resource Lending Corp., conditioned upon agreement and completion of the full recapitalization plan; and
• Company has all permits required for restart of the Hycroft Mine and recently received the Federal Record of Decision for the Phase II Environmental Impact Statement supporting the LOM pit development, and allowing for continued ramp-up and commencement of key growth projects necessary to achieve Feasibility Study production levels.

Randy Buffington, President and CEO, stated “We are beyond excited to have restarted the Hycroft Mine and I would like to thank everyone that has made this possible. Our employees, vendors, community supporters, regulators, current shareholders, and board have all been key in getting Hycroft to where it is today. Hycroft’s Feasibility Study estimates average annual production of 366,000 gold equivalent² ounces for 34 years. Projects like this are extremely rare, and, by bringing the mine into production, Hycroft can unlock its true value to become a world-class operation in a tier-one jurisdiction.”

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1 The Feasibility Study is based on gold and silver selling prices of $1,300 and $17.33 per ounce, respectively.
² Gold equivalent values are calculated using a 75:1 silver to gold ratio.

Hycroft Restart Update

Construction, refurbishment, hiring, and other restart activities began at Hycroft in December 2018 with active mining operations being resumed in April 2019. The primary goal of the first phase of the restart is to demonstrate the proprietary³ oxidation and heap leach process for sulfide ores on a commercial scale as these ore types represent the majority of the mineral reserve tons. To accomplish this, the Company: 1) constructed individual heap leach test pads (50,000 tons), which were stacked only with sulfide ores; 2) successfully oxidized the sulfide ores over the months that followed; and, 3) following oxidation, commenced traditional cyanide-leaching of the sulfide ores to produce doré on-site.

While the critical focus is on the oxidation and leach process of the sulfide ores, Hycroft has also mined and stacked (on entirely separate leach pad cells) existing oxide ore stockpiles to improve near-term cash flows and support crusher and equipment commissioning. Production from the restart began in August 2019 and the Company is now seeing consistent weekly production in excess of 750 gold equivalent ounces from oxide ores.

Sulfide Oxidation and Heap Leach Progress

Hycroft, in association with M3 Engineering, began testing the viability of the oxidation and leaching of sulfidic and transitional material in a heap leach application in early 2016. This testing utilized the knowledge gained through more than six years of extensive sulfide metallurgical testing, which was initially focused on the construction and development of a mill. Initial testing of the heap process on sulfide ore was very positive, indicating that this process could be utilized to commercially recover the 18.4 million gold equivalent ounce reserve at Hycroft.

Metallurgical determination of the process began with typical lab scale testing and was continually ramped up to column scale testing before eventually being applied on the current commercial scale, generating improved operating parameters and overall economics (as compared to the option of constructing a mill) as outlined in the Feasibility Study.

The three ore domains that were initially placed on the test pads, Brimstone, Central, and Bay, represent the majority of the ore body. Compared with the estimates contained in the Feasibility Study, the Company is seeing faster oxidation rates than anticipated. Gold cyanide soluble grades have increased consistent with the model which supports the Feasibility Study. Brimstone silver solubility was measured at 74% in October against an anticipated 70% recovery. Central and Bay silver solubilities were both measured at over 90% against a forecast of 70%. Brimstone gold oxidation measurements are on target to achieve the 65% recovery forecast in the Feasibility Study and both Central and Bay oxidation measurements are also tracking to modeled gold recoveries of 70% and 55%, respectively.

Hycroft continues to conduct metallurgical work to further improve processing efficiency and the predictability of the oxidation process.

Feasibility Study Overview

Sulfide Oxidation and Heap Leach Feasibility Study Highlights:

• Proven and Probable mineral reserves⁴ of 12 million ounces of gold and 481 million ounces of silver (18.4 million gold equivalent ounces)
• Average annual LOM production of approximately 231,000 ounces of gold and 10.1 million ounces of silver (approximately 366,000 gold equivalent ounces)
• Long-life operation with NPV (5%) of $2.1 billion using $1,300 Au and $17.33 Ag
• 34-year mine life
• Initial development capital of $61 million
• IRR of 147.5% with a payback in 2.6 years
• Robust project which can withstand volatility in commodity price and still deliver strong project economics as evidenced by NPV (5%) of $1.1 billion at $1,100 Au and $14.67 Ag

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³ Patent Pending.
⁴ Mineral Reserves estimated at $1,200/oz Au and $16.50/oz Ag.

Key LOM Metrics:

Hycroft’s operations are currently planned for typical truck and shovel open pit mining methods. Production is scheduled to start at 5 million tons in year one, ramp up to 20 million tons in year two, 36 million tons in year three, 60 million tons in year four, 75 million tons in year five, and 85 million tons in year six. The LOM stripping ratio (waste to ore) is 1.17:1.

As reflected in the Feasibility Study, over the LOM, ore routing will be based on optimal destination determination accounting for all applicable costs, recoveries, and limits (i.e. crushing capacity). Approximately 94% of the total ore will be processed via oxidation and heap leach, with the remainder being processed via traditional heap leach (with no pre-oxidation). Most oxide and transitional ore will be crushed to ¾”, and sulfide to ½” prior to being processed on the heap leach pads.

Mining will extend below the current water table level and dewatering is planned to allow mining to extend to final pit elevations.

Financial Update

The Company is in discussions with respect to a financial recapitalization plan to better position the Company for the successful ramp-up of the Hycroft Mine and future growth. This plan includes the repayment of certain debt, conversion of certain debt to equity and a committed $110 million senior secured credit facility and the agreement to purchase a 1.5% net smelter royalty for $30 million arranged by Sprott Resource Lending Corp., conditioned upon agreement and completion of the full recapitalization plan.

Hycroft Mining Corp. is a US-based, gold and silver producer operating its wholly owned Hycroft Mine located in the world-class mining region of Northern Nevada. The Hycroft Mine features one of the largest gold/silver deposits in the world with a low-capital, low-cost process and a 34-year mine life.

For further information, please visit our website at www.hycroftmining.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
This report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the Securities Exchange Act of 1934., as amended (the “Exchange Act”) (and the equivalent under Canadian securities laws) and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (the “PSLRA”) or in releases made by the SEC, all as may be amended from time to time. This cautionary statement is being made pursuant to the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the PSLRA with the intention of obtaining the benefit of the “safe harbor” provisions of such laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein or incorporated by reference, that address activities, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will or may occur in the future, are forward-looking statements. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “estimate”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “intend”, “believe”, “project”, “target”, “budget”, “may”, “can”, “will”, “would”, “could”, “should”, “seeks”, or “scheduled to”, or other similar words, or negatives of these terms or other variations of these terms or comparable language or any discussion of strategy or intentions. Forward-looking statements address activities, events or developments that Hycroft Mining expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future and are based on current expectations and assumptions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, and include, but are not limited to the time and cost of construction and operation of existing and new leach pads; the feasibility and efficacy of processing sulfide ores using a pre-oxidation and heap leach process; the processing and production of gold and silver from the heap leach pads, the availability of personnel and equipment to operate the mine, the future price of gold and silver, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures and requirements for additional capital; cash flow provided by operating activities before changes in working capital; government regulation of mining operations; environmental risks; unanticipated reclamation expenses; title disputes or claims and limitations on insurance coverage; total cash cost per ounce, total cash cost net of by-product per ounce, all-in sustaining cost per ounce, capital expenditures, corporate general and administration expenses; sustaining and project capital expenditures; the expected working capital requirements; the sufficiency of capital resources and the availability of additional funding as and when required to meet operational and strategic needs; the expected depreciation and depletion rates; changes in mining laws and regulations; the uncertainty in the estimation of mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates; the cost and timing of sustaining capital projects; the uncertainty in geologic, hydrological, metallurgical and geotechnical studies and opinions; infrastructure risks, including access to water and power; the expectation of meeting production targets; the expected timeline for achieving mining rates, oxidation rates and percentage recoveries included in the Feasibility Study; projected net present values and internal rates of return under the Feasibility Study; risks associated with competition; contractor, labor and employment risks; and dependence on key management personnel and executives . Although Hycroft Mining has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results, performance and achievements and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

Contact: Randy Buffington President & Chief Executive Officer Tracey Thom Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communication tracey.thom@hycroftmining.com