NEW GOLD PROVIDES EXPLORATION UPDATE FOR NEW AFTON AND RAINY RIVER MINES, HIGHLIGHTED BY SIGNIFICANT GROWTH AT NEW AFTON'S K-ZONE
Executive Summary
- Underground drilling at New Afton confirms and more than doubles the strike length of the K‑Zone mineralized system to ~600 m and extends it 550 m eastward, adding high‑grade copper‑gold porphyry intercepts.
- Rainy River’s 2025 exploration program (≈45,000 m completed) continues to expand the NW Trend and underground zones, supporting expected upgrades of inferred resources to indicated status.
- New Gold is increasing its consolidated 2025 exploration budget by $6 million (total $22 M for New Afton, 63,000 m planned drilling) to target a maiden K‑Zone resource and advance a feasibility study in 2026.
Key Details
- New Afton – K‑Zone Expansion
- System now ~600 m strike × 900 m vertical; horizontal thickness increased to 180 m.
- New porphyry “K‑Zone Footwall” discovered 550 m east of current footprint (Borehole AF24‑596E: 0.75 % Cu, 0.59 g/t Au over 55 m).
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Notable footwall intercepts:
- EA24‑538: 2.72 % Cu, 2.89 g/t Au (CuEq 4.90 %) over 48 m (true width 35 m)
- EA25‑574: 1.42 % Cu, 0.88 g/t Au (CuEq 2.04 %) over 98 m (true width 25 m)
- EA25‑572B: 0.81 % Cu, 0.59 g/t Au (CuEq 1.23 %) over 312.6 m (true width 55 m)
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New Afton – Upper K‑Zone Highlights
- EA25‑568: 2.73 % Cu, 1.48 g/t Au (CuEq 3.87 %) over 155 m (true width 50 m)
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EA25‑564: 2.00 % Cu, 1.02 g/t Au (CuEq 2.79 %) over 67 m (true width 56 m)
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Exploration Budget Increase
- Additional $5 M for New Afton (total $22 M) to drill an extra 15,000 m in 2025, aiming for a maiden K‑Zone resource in the year‑end reserve/resource update (early 2026).
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Planned use of existing C‑Zone infrastructure (tailings plant, crusher, conveyor, IOC) for future K‑Zone development.
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Rainy River – Exploration Progress
- 45,000 m of a 58,000 m program completed; most extensive drill campaign since 2017.
- NW Trend open‑pit extensions: RC25‑0121 – 3.15 g/t Au, 4.22 g/t Ag (AuEq 3.20) over 10 m; RC25‑0124 – 0.80 g/t Au, 1.32 g/t Ag (AuEq 0.82) over 18 m.
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Infill drilling converting inferred to indicated resources across multiple zones (ODM Main, ODM East, 17 East, Intrepid). Example: RR25‑2044 – 3.34 g/t Au, 2.24 g/t Ag (AuEq 3.37) over 11 m.
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Underground Rainy River Highlights
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Main zone high‑grade intercepts: RR24‑2017‑W1 – 5.97 % Cu, 4.87 g/t Ag (CuEq 6.03 %) over 4.5 m; RR25‑2066A – 6.88 % Cu, 5.08 g/t Au (CuEq 6.94 %) over 10.5 m; includes a spectacular 37.90 % Cu, 6.40 g/t Ag (CuEq 37.98 %) over 1.3 m.
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Forward‑Looking Statements
- Management expects the expanded K‑Zone and Rainy River drill results to positively impact year‑end 2025 mineral reserve and resource estimates and to support future feasibility studies and mine‑life extensions.