New Gold’s B.C. mine beats production forecasts
New Gold Inc. (NGD-TSX, NYSE American) said the fourth quarter of 2024 was its highest production quarter of the year, highlighted by the company’s New Afton mine in British Columbia beating forecasts.
However, the higher-than-expected production at New Afton was partially offset by underperformance at the company’s Rainy River mine in Ontario due to mechanical downtime.
New Gold reported consolidated gold production of 298,303 ounces in 2024, which was slightly below updated consolidated guidance of between 300,000 and 310,000 ounces. In 2024, the company also produced 54.0 million pounds of copper, achieving the midpoint of its guidance range.
Consolidated all-in-sustaining costs are expected to be at the lower end of the guidance range of US$1,240 to US$1,340 per gold ounce sold on a by-product basis.
The company reported fourth quarter consolidated production of 80,438 ounces of gold and 14.5 million pounds of copper, resulting in a 2.0% and 20% increase over the equivalent quarter in 2023 and a 3.0% and 15% increase over the third quarter of 2024, respectively.
New Afton fourth quarter production was 19,652 ounces of gold and 14.5 million pounds of copper, an increase of 19% gold production and 15% copper production increase over the third quarter of 2024.
The company said the New Afton B3 cave performed as planned, and C-Zone ore production is ramping up as planned following commercial production and crusher commissioning early in the fourth quarter. Gold production at New Afton beat the top end of the original 2024 guidance, with copper production achieving the midpoint.
Meanwhile, Rainy River produced 60,786 ounces of gold in the fourth quarter, when operations were adversely impacted by unexpected mechanical downtime on the crushing and conveying system in December, leading to lower than expected throughput. As a result, fourth quarter production, specifically December production, was below plan, leading to gold production that was slightly below the updated 2024 guidance range.
New Gold shares eased 3.2% or 13 cents to $3.91 and trade in a 52-week range of $4.38 and $1.47.
“The company continues to advance initiatives to shape its future,’’ said New Gold President and CEO Patrick Godin. “We will release two updated technical reports later this quarter, one for Rainy River and one for New Afton, to illustrate our ability to increase our production, decrease our costs and maximize our free cash flow generation in the years to come,’’ Godin said.
New Gold will release its fourth quarter and full year 2024 financial results after the market close on February 19, 2025. It will release its operational outlook, technical report summaries and updated mineral reserve and resources statement as of December 31, 2024, on February 12, 2025.