New Gold eyes first production at Rainy River in September

New Gold (TSX: NGD; NYSE-MKT: NGD) is set to bring its large Rainy River gold project online in northwestern Ontario this September, with commercial production expected in November. “After spending US$126 million during the first quarter, the project schedule and capital estimate are in line with the updated plan and start-up is targeted for September 2017,” Hannes Portmann, New Gold’s president and CEO, said on a late April conference call. While the project’s budget and commercial production schedule remain on track, the company announced that it now expects Rainy River’s Schedule 2 amendment (or permit) in January 2018, instead of the fall of 2017, based on recent discussions with regulatory officials. The permit is required to close “two very small creeks within the boarder tailings facility,” Portmann said. New Gold is currently constructing a starter tailings cell, within the broader tailings management area, that does not require the Schedule 2 amendment, Julie Taylor, the company’s director of investor relations, writes in an email. This will allow the company to begin operations as planned in September before receiving the permit in January 2018. Continue reading at The Northern Miner.