If New Gold (TSX:NGD) can extend by two to three years the mine lives of its two producing assets, it will be great value for shareholders, says Patrick Godin, president & CEO.
In February Godin spoke to Kitco Mining at the BMO Global Metals, Mining & Critical Minerals Conference 2024 in Hollywood, Florida.
Rainy River is located in western Ontario and New Afton is in south-central British Columbia.
At Rainy River, production started in 2017 from the open pit. Underground mining began in 2022 and will hit peak production from 2025-28. Production will continue from the underground main zones until 2031.
The New Afton mine is on the same site as the Afton open pit, which operated from 1977-97. It started commercial production in 2012. The company expects the C-Zone development will extend the mine life to 2030.
In 2023, New Gold produced 423,517 gold-equivalent ounces, and brought down all-in-sustaining costs (AISC) to $1,545 an ounce. The fourth quarter was the sixth consecutive quarter of delivering to plan.
Godin pointed to several de-risking events at Rainy River including: completion of mining the pit overburden; extending the open pit; accelerating underground development; increasing mill recovery by 1.9 percent; and heightening the tailings storage facility by two metres.
Godin said the company will spend $20 million on exploration, following up on targets outside of the open pit that haven’t yet been explored.
“For the first time at Rainy River we renewed 74 percent of what we mined in a year, so
it's a great achievement,” he said.
At New Afton, mill throughput will nearly double, increasing copper production by 60 percent and gold production by 35 percent.
Coverage of the BMO Global Metals, Mining & Critical Minerals Conference sponsored by First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG).