New Gold hikes Rainy River capex by US$105 million for tailings redesign

With tailings dam disasters at Imperial Metals’ (TSX: III) Mount Polley mine in the Cariboo region of British Columbia, and the Samarco mine jointly owned by BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) and Vale (NYSE: VALE) in Brazil, the integrity of tailings management facilities are top of mind among industry stakeholders. This week New Gold (TSX: NGD) announced that it will redesign 100% of the tailings structures at its Rainy River project in northwestern Ontario, instead of the 30% it had envisioned earlier this year. The final redesign – which includes the flattening of slopes and the addition of rock toe buttresses – is expected to be completed by the end of October, and should not delay the start of production, which is scheduled to begin in the middle of next year, the company says. New Gold estimates that it will need 8 million tonnes of additional construction rock to build the latest version of the water and tailings management facility, or twice the original estimate. Read the entire story at www.NorthernMiner.com/news/new-gold-hikes-rainy-river-capex