Press Release
New Gold Inc. is pleased to report its Rainy River mine has achieved commercial production, roughly two weeks ahead of schedule.
“Achieving commercial production is a major milestone for New Gold and the Rainy River team,” said company president and CEO Hannes Portmann.
“With the hard work, dedication, and commitment of our workforce, and the strong support of our local communities and indigenous partners, we are now focused on continuing to successfully ramp up the operation through the balance of the year,” he added.
As previously announced, the Rainy River mine began processing ore as scheduled on Sept. 14 and announced its first gold pour on Oct. 6.
In the first 30 days of operation, Rainy River successfully has processed roughly 457,000 tonnes of ore.
Inclusive of four days of intentional downtime as part of the commissioning plan, the processing rate averaged 15,200 tonnes per day, or 72 percent of the 21,000 tonnes per day nameplate capacity.
New Gold defines commercial production as exceeding 60 percent of nameplate capacity over a 30-day period.
Importantly, for the period Oct. 1-18, the processing rate averaged 19,000 tonnes per day, or 90 percent of nameplate capacity.
To date, both grade and recoveries also have been consistent with New Gold’s commissioning plan.
