New Gold resumes mining at New Afton mine, British Columbia
New Gold Inc. [NGT-TSX, NYSE American] has confirmed the structural integrity of the New Afton tailings storage facility and has resumed all underground mining activities at its 100%-owned New Afton mine, located 10 km west of Kamloops, southern British Columbia.
As previously reported, during regular inspections of the New Afton tailings storage facility (NATSF) completed on August 9, visual geotechnical variances were observed that required further review by the engineer of record (EOR). The company acted promptly, advising the relevant authorities, and pro-actively suspending underground mining activities with health, safety and the well-being of its employees, contractors and communities as its top priority.
The EOR completed a thorough review on August 10 and confirmed that the NATSF structural integrity and behavior are normal and expected.
On the evening of August 10, the company resumed normal underground mining activities on site. Milling operations were unaffected during this period and in-pit tailings deposition continued as planned. New Afton remains well positioned to meet all annual production and cost guidance metrics as set out earlier in the year. C-zone remains well positioned for first production ore in the fourth quarter, with commercial production planned for the second half of 2024.
New Gold is a Canadian-focused intermediate mining company with a portfolio of two core producing assets in Canada, the Rainy River gold mine and the New Afton copper-gold mine. The company also holds other Canadian-focused investments.