Oct 9 2017
New Gold Inc. is pleased to report that it has completed its first gold pour at the Rainy River mine, and the company's commissioning plans remain on schedule. The first pour yielded approximately 500 ounces of gold and 600 ounces of silver.
"Our team is proud to have delivered on all of the key project milestones since the beginning of 2017, however, the first gold pour is a particularly special one for New Gold and its stakeholders," stated Hannes Portmann, President and Chief Executive Officer. "This achievement is reflective of a true team effort as it would not have been possible without the commitment and resilience of our workforce as well as the strong support of our local communities and Indigenous partners – thank you."
As previously announced, the Rainy River mine began processing ore on schedule on September 14, 2017. Since that date, the company has successfully processed approximately 290,000 tonnes of ore. Inclusive of four days of intentional downtime as part of the commissioning plan, this translates to an average processing rate of almost 14,000 tonnes per day, or 67% of the 21,000 tonne per day nameplate capacity. At the same time, the mining rate through September has continued to track on plan which has enabled the mine to deliver the scheduled quantities of ore to the mill.