The closure of New Gold is expected in 2031, but work is already underway to build a positive and lasting legacy in the district, to live on after the mine is gone.
Gord Simms, General Manager of New Gold’s Rainy River site, was on hand at the Rainy River District Municipal Association earlier this month, to address municipal leaders on the mine’s future. Part of that entails the creation of a social closure plan, which has been entitled Beyond Rainy River.
“Social closure is really engaging with the stakeholders and understanding what the impact will be when the mine does close,” said Simms. “Part of that is just informing and educating all the workforce and other stakeholders that the mine operations will one day close. It’s a finite resource, and when that resource is depleted, then the operation is in care and maintenance and reclamation and ongoing monitoring.”
New Gold recently completed the creation of a social closure process with New Afton, its operation in British Columbia. Over the course of four years, management underwent a series of engagements with councils, businesses and staff.
“They were able to prepare a plan that outlined what was important and how the mine could incorporate some of that into their planning for the remaining mine life,” said Simms. “So when the mine eventually does close, it’s put in place to leave a positive impact on the local communities.”
That process began for Rainy River last summer. Simms said it will eventually include engagement with town councils, local businesses and town hall style meetings. But for the immediate future, the company’s highest priority is its employees, who will be engaged over the next two months, said Simms.
The Rainy River site began in 2017 as an open pit mine, with plans to transition to an underground mine. That transition began in 2022, with the launch of the underground operation. By mid-2026, the pit portion is expected to cease operation, and the Rainy River site will continue as an underground mine until its closure, currently forecast in 2031 – three years beyond the previous life of mine projection.
The transition to a fully underground mine will require new skills.
“One of the priorities that we’re working through on site is just how we’re going to transition our current workforce of open pit miners to reallocate those positions as much as it’s practically achievable into underground miners,” said Simms.
As in New Afton, employee training will be a focus in the social closure plan.
“A lot of it centres around training for employees, so they have transferable skills to either other mining operations, or opportunities for skills that can be transferable to other industries,” said Simms. “So training is a big one and apprenticeship programs and lateral progressions.”
A wider engagement is expected to begin in the latter half of 2024 and into 2025, through engagements with councils and business communities. The end goal will be set of priorities and plans unique to each community, said Simms.
“Investing in lasting programs that will outlive the life of mine, from a community perspective, is another key learning from New Afton,” he added.
Part of that stakeholder discussion will inevitably include the regulatory areas of the mine closure, including the biophysical and environmental reclamation of the land.
“That closure plan is required to be submitted before operation to the regulators and that’s a highly technical document that describes how we’re going to reclaim the area affected by mining operations,” said Simms.
After the closure, the site will be flooded, forming a lake; the surrounding terrain will be contoured, covered in soil, and re-vegetated. A long term water treatment plan will also go into effect. All water leaving the site will be tested and treated to meet specific water quality guidelines, with a 50 year monitoring plan in place, said Simms.
New Gold’s Rainy River site currently employs 850 people. Simms joined as general manager in April, and is proud of the crew and the culture of safety at the site.
The safety slogan, which was adopted in 2002 is “courage to care,” said Simms.
“It’s a safety culture where essentially, we stop work if it’s not safe and we look out for each other. It’s really becoming a core of how we operate and it’s good business and good for people and really reflects the values throughout the organization,” he said, adding that the site has more than 450 days without a lost time injury.
“For an operation to work that many hours safely is a significant achievement and something that as a GM, I’m very proud of.”
