New Gold said it’s ahead of schedule in achieving first ore development from its Underground Main zone at its Rainy River mine in northwestern Ontario.
In its third quarter results, the Toronto-based mid-tier gold miner announced Oct. 29 that this milestone was achieved in late September. It’s part of a slow ramp-up at Underground Main toward the start of stope development in the first half of 2025 and eventually achieving a production rate of 5,500 tonnes a day by 2027.
The open-pit and underground mine is 65 kilometres northwest of Fort Frances.
The underground portion of Rainy River is divided into two sections: Intrepid, which has been in production since 2022, and the much larger Underground Main sector, which is currently under development.
The majority of underground gold reserves at the mine is in the Underground Main. New Gold said this area will be an important source of higher-grade production in the coming years to supplement mill feed from the open-pit side of the operation and the Intrepid zone.
The mining of first ore follows the completion of the main fresh air raise and in-pit portal in this year’s third quarter.
“At Rainy River, accessing first development ore from Underground Main marks a key milestone and the underground mine remains well positioned to achieve the 5,500-tonnes-per-day production target by 2027,” said company president-CEO Patrick Godin in a statement.
“Furthermore, technical studies are underway at both operations with the objective of replacing depletion of mineral reserves and unlocking additional value,” he said.
The company said underground mining at Intrepid continues to perform well, averaging more than 1,000 tonnes per day in September.
Also on the development front, New Gold said a second access portal to the underground mine, at the eastern side of the open pit, was established in the third quarter.
The ramp from the underground workings to the pit is expected to be connected by early 2025, providing a second avenue of egress from underground that should significantly reduce haulage distances.
The company has been carrying out its first exploration program since opening the mine in 2017, and is reporting positive results.
The open-pit mine life has been extended by one year and New Gold is considering expanding the pit and adding some smaller satellite pits.
New Gold said it continues to establish additional underground mining zones and complete key infrastructure in preparation for the 5,500-tonne-per-day ramp-up by 2027.
