New Found Gold Announces Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Queensway Gold Project
-
Solid low-cost production profile from year one via a phased mine plan:
- Phase 1: Low Initial capital cost of
$155 million , builds average annual gold production of 69.3koz oz Au1 at an AISC2 ofUS$1,282 /oz Au in Years 1 to 4 planned to fund Phase 2. - Phase 2: Growth capital of
$442 million , builds average annual gold production of 172.2koz Au at an AISC ofUS$1,090 /oz Au in Years 5 to 9 paid back in less than one year.
- Phase 1: Low Initial capital cost of
- Early revenue potential: Initial gold production targeted for 2027 pending regulatory approval.
-
Significant leverage to gold price: After-tax NPV5%3 increases to
$1.45 billion from$743 million and IRR4 increases to 197% from 56.3% when gold price raised toUS$3,300 /oz Au from base case ofUS$2,500 /oz Au. -
Total production: 1.5
Moz Au over a 15-year LOM5 at an average total cash cost ofUS$1,085 /oz Au and an AISC ofUS$1,256 /oz Au. - Exploration upside: Significant resource expansion potential, both near-MRE6 and camp scale over 110 km7 strike extent.
All amounts in Canadian dollars unless stated otherwise.
The Company will hold a webcast to discuss the Queensway PEA results on |
Since day one, the objective of the new management team at
"The infill, definition and exploration drilling, completion of the environmental baseline work, trade-off and further engineering studies will allow for rapid advancement of the phased Project." continued
The PEA is preliminary in nature, it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized.
Table 1: Queensway PEA Summary
Production1 |
Value |
Units |
LOM |
15 |
years |
Total |
27,373 |
ktonnes |
Phase 1: |
1,150 |
ktonnes |
Phase 2 and 3: |
26,223 |
ktonnes |
Average Head Grade |
1.85 |
g/t Au |
Phase 1: |
9.64 |
g/t Au |
Phase 2: |
2.22 |
g/t Au |
Cut-off Grade (OP) |
0.3 |
g/t Au |
Cut-off Grade (UG) |
2.68 |
g/t Au |
Average Gold Recovery |
91.9 |
% |
Contained Gold |
1,626 |
koz |
Recovered Gold |
1,494 |
koz |
Average Annual Gold Production (Years 1-4) |
69.3 |
koz/yr |
Average Annual Gold Production (Years 5-9) |
172.2 |
koz/yr |
Average Production |
700 |
tpd |
Average Production |
7,000 |
tpd |
Strip Ratio |
6.0 |
- |
Capital Costs1 |
|
|
|
154.8 |
$M |
Growth Capital (Phase 2 and 3) |
584.9 |
$M |
Sustaining Capital |
325.4 |
$M |
|
30.0 |
$M |
Total Capital Costs |
1,095.1 |
$M |
Total Operating Costs1,2 |
1,977 |
$M |
Royalty NSR |
0.40 |
% |
Total Cash Cost |
1,085 |
US$/oz Au |
AISC (LOM)3 |
1,256 |
US$/oz Au |
AISC (Years 1-4)3 |
1,282 |
US$/oz Au |
AISC (Years 5-9)3 |
1,090 |
US$/oz Au |
Financial Summary |
|
|
Gold Price (Base Case) |
2,500 |
US$/oz Au |
Exchange Rate |
1.43 |
C$/US$ |
After-Tax NPV5% |
743 |
$M |
After-Tax IRR |
56.3 |
% |
After-Tax Payback |
<2 |
years |
Mine Net Revenue |
4,924 |
$M |
EBITDA |
2,947 |
$M |
EBITDA Margin |
59.8 |
% |
Notes: |
1 Denotes a "specified financial measure" within the meaning of National Instrument 52-112 – non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Disclosure. See note on "Non-IFRS Financial Measures". |
2 Total operating costs refer to onsite charges that cover open pit mining, underground mining, third party processing and material handling, onsite processing, and onsite general and administrative costs. |
3 AISC is calculated as the sum of treatment and refining charges, royalties, onsite operating costs, sustaining capital costs, and closure costs, divided by the quantity of ounces sold. |
PEA Overview
Queensway is planned as a primary conventional open pit ("OP") mine complemented by a high-grade underground ("UG"), mechanized cut and fill mine, with early off-site toll milling transitioning to on-site treatment of the mined material. Material will be processed through a conventional circuit consisting of comminution, gravity concentration, flotation of a sulphide concentrate for off-site treatment, and cyanide leach and adsorption via carbon-in-leach ("CIL") of the flotation tailings, carbon elution and gold recovery circuits. The two products to be produced are doré on site, plus a gold-bearing, sulphide concentrate sold for treatment at an off-site facility.
The PEA envisions a 15-year LOM producing 1.5 million ounces ("Moz") recoverable gold and is planned to be developed in three distinct phases (Figure 1). Phasing of the Project allows for lower upfront capital requirements, early revenue generation, funding of subsequent phases, processing highest grade first, and best-in-class in-pit tailings deposition.
Phase 1 (Years 1-4):
Phase 1 involves preparing the Queensway site and installing the infrastructure for a small OP mine. High-grade material will be crushed and transported to an off-site toll mill located in
Phase 2 (Years 5-15):
Phase 2 involves the construction of the on-site 7,000 tpd processing plant. Construction of the plant is scheduled to start in Year 3, with completion in Year 4. Processing of the material will commence in Year 5 of the operation, for a planned total of nine years, followed by two years of reclaiming low grade stockpiles. The stockpiles created during Phase 1 and the UG high-grade material in Phase 3 will allow for grade sequencing, thereby prioritizing higher grade mined material during the initial years of processing to optimize the project economics. The mining rate and sequence for the OP will allow for in-pit tailings deposition for the life of the operation. Phase 2 has average annual gold production of 129.0 koz and AISC of
Phase 3 (Years 6-10):
Construction of the UG mine is scheduled to commence in Year 5. The UG mine is planned as a high-grade cut-and-fill operation from Year 6 to Year 10 at a nominal production rate of 700 tpd. The UG mine will consist of a series of five separate ramp systems to access the stopes and mine the mineralized material in a traditional mechanized cut-and-fill method with 3 metre ("m") x 3 m heading size. The mineralized material will be hauled to surface using 20 tonne trucks.
Optimized Project Economics Through a Phased Mine Plan
The phased mine plan is possible because of the high-grade core of the deposit and is intended to minimize both initial capital and shareholder dilution with the first phase funding future expansions. This is accomplished through grade sequencing that is, the stockpiles created during Phase 1 and UG high-grade ores in Phase 3 will allow prioritizing higher grade mined material during the initial years of on-site processing to optimize project economics. The lowest grades will be processed starting in Year 13 through to the end of processing in Year 15 after the mining has been completed. Processing the higher grades first will generate higher cash flow in the earlier years.
Queensway PEA and Technical Report
The Queensway PEA was prepared using the Company's initial mineral resource estimate with an effective date as at
Property Description, Location, Access and On-Site Infrastructure
Queensway is located in the province of
The
Mineral Resource Estimate
Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources ("M&I") total 18.0 million tonnes ("Mt") at an average gold grade of 2.40 grams per tonne ("g/t Au") for 1.39 million contained ounces of gold. Inferred Mineral Resources total 10.7 Mt at an average grade of 1.77 g/t Au for 0.61 million ounces of gold. The Mineral Resource estimate has an effective date of
The OP Indicated Mineral Resources total 17.3 Mt grading 2.25 g/t Au containing 1.25 million ounces Au, and Inferred Mineral Resources total 9.0 Mt grading 1.24 g/t Au containing 0.36 million ounces Au.
The UG Indicated Mineral Resources total 0.8 Mt grading 5.76 g/t Au containing 0.14 million ounces Au, and Inferred Mineral Resources total 1.7 Mt grading 4.44 g/t Au containing 0.25 million ounces Au.
The resource database was closed on
Table 2: Mineral Resource Estimate Summary (Effective Date
Zone |
Category |
Tonnage (Mt) |
Grade (g/t Au) |
Contained Metal
( |
|
Indicated |
17.3 |
2.25 |
1.25 |
Inferred |
9.0 |
1.24 |
0.36 |
|
Underground |
Indicated |
0.8 |
5.76 |
0.14 |
Inferred |
1.7 |
4.44 |
0.25 |
|
Total |
Indicated |
18.0 |
2.40 |
1.39 |
Inferred |
10.7 |
1.77 |
0.61 |
Notes: |
1. |
CIM (2014) definitions were followed for Mineral Resources. |
2. |
Mineral Resources are estimated using a long-term gold price of |
3. |
Open pit Mineral Resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t Au and constrained by a preliminary optimized pit shell with a pit slope angle of 45°, and bench height of 5 m. |
4. |
RPEEE (as defined in the Company's |
5. |
The optimized pit shell, underground reporting shapes, and cut-off grades were generated by assuming metallurgical recovery of 90%, standard treatment and refining charges, mining costs of |
6. |
Bulk density within the vein and halo mineralization domains is 2.7 t/m³. |
7. |
Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. |
8. |
Numbers may not add due to rounding. |
9. |
See the |
The Qualified Person ("QP") is not aware of any environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-economic, marketing, political, or other relevant factors that could materially affect the Mineral Resource estimate.
No Mineral Reserves are defined for the Property.
The overall conversion of Mineral Resources to the PEA mine plan was 92% and 74% for the indicated and inferred categories respectively. Only the AFZ Core was considered for the PEA. A lower conversion of the UG Inferred category is mainly attributed to changes in the cutoff grade between the MRE and PEA. The MRE considered underground mining with the longhole open stoping method, while the PEA assumed the comparatively higher cost cut and fill method.
Mining
The mine plan is based on conventional OP truck and shovel methods with a complementary high-grade UG cut and fill mine. The OP operation will consist of 17 pits. The three main pits, Iceberg, Keats and
The UG operation will take place in five zones, accessible from five surface portals collared from the smaller open pits. The primary mining method will be mechanized cut and fill mining method. A 3 m x 3 m stope size was selected to minimize dilution while maximizing selectivity. The backfill method will be a combination of rock fill and cemented rockfill. A total of 1.1 Mt of mineralized material will be mined at an average diluted gold grade of 6.67 g/t Au over a 5-year period, with a nominal production rate of 700 tpd. Initial capital development is planned for one year, followed by ongoing capital development over three additional years. It is envisaged that capital development will be executed using contractors, while production mining will be accomplished by owner operators.
The infill drilling currently being conducted is targeting the inferred material to upgrade to indicated.
Processing and Recovery
Phase 1 – Toll Milling
The PEA envisions toll milling a total of 1.2 Mt in Year 1 to Year 5 at an average diluted grade of 9.64 g/t Au at an offsite location some 300 km from the Queensway site. High grade material will be crushed at the Queensway site and transported for processing at the toll mill. Plant modifications of the toll mill have been accounted for in the PEA capital estimate to convert the existing grinding and carbon in pulp ("CIP") leach plant to a grind - gravity concentration - carbon in leach ("CIL") plant, with an estimated recovery of 92%. A gravity concentration circuit and additional leach tanks will be added to the toll mill flowsheet to achieve a 700 tpd capacity and the estimated 92% recovery. Sufficient tailings storage is available at the toll mill site for the proposed Phase 1 tonnage. The metallurgical test work completed to date supports the recovery assumptions for the high-grade feed that will be processed at this site.
Phase 2 – On-Site Processing and In-Pit Tailings Deposition
An on-site 7,000 tpd process plant will be constructed that will comprise comminution, gravity concentration, sulphide flotation, cyanide leaching and carbon adsorption via CIL, carbon elution and gold recovery circuits. CIL tailings will be treated in a cyanide destruction circuit and pumped to the in-pit tailings storage facility. The mill will operate for 10.5 years, from Year 5 to Year 15.
Select key design criteria include crushing plant utilization of 75%; grinding, gravity, CIL, gold recovery and tailings handling circuit utilization of 92% through the use of standby equipment in critical areas, in-line crushed material stockpile, and reliable power supply; the comminution circuit will produce a primary grind size of (P80) 80% passing 75 µm; and CIL residence time of 36 hours to achieve optimal gold extraction.
Test Work
NFG has completed two phases of metallurgical test work, and a third phase is in progress. Phase 1 of the test work evaluated three mineralized zones, Keats, Golden Joint, and Lotto, and phase 2 studied mineralization from the Iceberg and Iceberg East zones. The phase 3 test work currently underway is examining mineralized material from
Based on metallurgical test work completed to date, the PEA assumes an overall recovery of 92%, with 48% of the gold reporting to doré, and 44% of the gold reporting to concentrate. Gold reporting to doré will be recovered by gravity concentration, as well as CIL of the flotation tailings. Sulphide concentrate will be produced from gravity concentration tailings and will be sold to a concentrate processor. The PEA assumes maximum gold payability in concentrate of 97.5% subject to a minimum 2 g/t Au deduction,
On-Site Infrastructure
Plant site activities, including the process plant, crushing and stockpile management facility, UG mine, OP mine, and balance of plant infrastructure, will require an average of 15 to 20 megawatts ("MW") at full operation. The plant's full power consumption was benchmarked against similar projects, with OP mining and UG mining adjusted for processing throughputs.
Access to the site will be from the
Environmental and Permitting
The Company has completed comprehensive environmental baseline studies for Queensway, thereby laying a strong foundation for the Project's future development. These studies have been instrumental in identifying and understanding the environmental context of the Project area. To date, no significant environmental obstacles have been identified, which highlights the potential for responsible and sustainable advancement of the Project. Given the site's proximity to a nearby town (
Recognizing the importance of community involvement and social responsibility, the Company has also commenced early and widespread social engagement efforts. To date, these initiatives have garnered positive feedback from stakeholders, reflecting an encouraging level of community support for the Project. Through its diligent and pro-active approach to the reduction of environmental impacts and meaningful stakeholder engagement,
Capital and Operating Costs
Queensway is planned to be built in three phases.
Phase 1 capital will support a 700 tpd mine with offsite toll milling. The OP mine equipment fleet is assumed to be a capitalized lease. The mining capital costs include all site clearing and road construction, waste dump, stockpile pads, water management, building and maintenance facilities. The on-site infrastructure includes the power installation, water supply and water treatment and temporary crushing facilities. The off-site infrastructure includes the modifications required at the off-site toll mill facility, the relocation of the main transmission lines that run through the Queensway property, and the access to the site from the
Phase 2 capital is related to the 7,000 tpd on-site processing plant, the permanent crushing plant, and prepare the Iceberg OP for in-pit tailings deposition.
Phase 3 capital is related to the UG mine and includes initial capital development, mobile equipment and fixed plant equipment.
The sustaining capital costs include the ongoing capital development for the underground mine, fleet purchases and lease payments for the open pit equipment, and allowances for tailings infrastructure relocation.
Operating costs are developed from first principles based on recent precedent projects with similar mining methodologies and location (Tables 3 to 6). Refining and transporting costs are all inclusive of concentrate and doré costs, penalties and charges. Royalties assume 0.4% on the net smelter return.
Table 3: LOM Operating Cost and AISC
|
Value |
Units |
LOM Operating Costs1,2 |
|
|
Mining (OP) |
906,607 |
$ '000 |
Mining (UG) |
188,525 |
$ '000 |
Off-Site Toll Milling |
57,499 |
$ '000 |
Material Handling |
86,248 |
$ '000 |
Processing |
549,501 |
$ '000 |
G&A |
188,746 |
$ '000 |
Total LOM Operating Costs |
1,977,125 |
$ '000 |
Doré transport and refining charges |
9.15 |
$/oz |
Concentrate transport charges |
120 |
$/wmt |
Concentrate treatment charges |
200 |
US$/dmt |
Penalties |
10 |
US$/dmt |
Royalty NSR |
0.40 |
% |
OP Mining Cost |
4.91 |
$/t moved |
UG Mining Cost |
176 |
$/t |
Off Site Processing & Transport cost |
125 |
$/t |
On-Site Processing cost |
20.83 |
$/t |
Total Cash Cost |
1,085 |
US$/oz Au |
AISC (LOM)3 |
1,256 |
US$/oz Au |
AISC (Years 1-4)3 |
1,282 |
US$/oz Au |
AISC (Years 5-9)3 |
1,090 |
US$/oz Au |
Notes: |
1 Denotes a "specified financial measure" within the meaning of National Instrument 52-112 – non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Disclosure. See note on "Non-IFRS Financial Measures". |
2 Total operating costs refer to onsite charges that cover open pit mining, underground mining, third party processing and material handling, onsite processing, and onsite general and administrative costs. |
3 AISC is calculated as the sum of treatment and refining charges, royalties, onsite operating costs, sustaining capital costs, and closure costs, divided by the quantity of ounces sold. |
Table 4: Unit Operating Cost
Unit Operating Costs (LOM)1,2 |
Unit |
Value |
Mining |
$/t proc |
40.01 |
Processing |
$/t proc |
25.33 |
G&A |
$/t proc |
6.90 |
Total |
$/t proc |
72.23 |
|
|
|
Unit OP Mining Costs |
$/t moved |
4.91 |
Notes: |
1 Denotes a "specified financial measure" within the meaning of National Instrument 52-112 – non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Disclosure. See note on "Non-IFRS Financial Measures". |
2 Total operating costs refer to onsite charges that cover open pit mining, underground mining, third party processing and material handling, onsite processing, and onsite general and administrative costs. |
Table 5: LOM Capital Cost
|
Phase 1 $M |
Phase 2 $M |
Phase 3 $M |
Sustaining Capital $M |
Total $M |
Mining |
47,749 |
|
104,162 |
321,365 |
473,276 |
Onsite Processing |
|
220,504 |
|
|
220,504 |
Onsite Infrastructure |
15,680 |
23,520 |
|
4,000 |
43,200 |
Offsite Infrastructure |
40,497 |
|
|
|
40,497 |
Indirects/Owner's Costs/EPCM |
19,906 |
109,750 |
10,000 |
|
139,656 |
Contingency |
30,958 |
88,444 |
28,540 |
|
147,942 |
Total1 |
154,790 |
442,218 |
142,702 |
325,365 |
1,065,075 |
Notes: |
1 Denotes a "specified financial measure" within the meaning of National Instrument 52-112 – non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Disclosure. See note on "Non-IFRS Financial Measures". |
Economic Analysis
At a base case consensus long-term gold price of
After-Tax Cash Flow
Using the base case gold price of
Table 6: Gold Price Sensitivity Analysis
Scenario |
|
Downside Case |
Base Case |
Upside Case |
Gold Price |
USD/oz |
|
|
|
Foreign Exchange |
CAD/USD |
1.43 |
1.43 |
1.43 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 % |
504 |
1,128 |
2,113 |
After Tax NPV $MM |
5 % |
295 |
743 |
1,450 |
|
8 % |
210 |
583 |
1,175 |
|
10 % |
164 |
498 |
1,026 |
After-Tax IRR |
% |
24 |
56 |
197 |
|
||||
Payback |
Years |
1 |
<2 |
<1 |
Phase 1 (Years 1-4) |
||||
Average Annual EBITDA |
$M |
95 |
145 |
224 |
Avg Annual After-tax Op Cash Flow |
$M |
86 |
117 |
166 |
Phase 2 (Years 5-9) |
||||
Average Annual EBITDA |
$M |
263 |
382 |
573 |
Avg Annual After-tax Op Cash Flow |
$M |
212 |
283 |
395 |
LOM (Years 1-15) |
||||
LOM EBITDA |
$M |
1,909 |
2,947 |
4,606 |
LOM After-Tax Operating Cash Flow |
$M |
1,600 |
2,223 |
3,208 |
Note: Average annual figures represent a 15-year LOM. |
Next Steps
As Queensway moves towards cashflow as soon as possible, the following activities are being completed:
Geological work including a planned 70,000 m drill campaign consisting of:
- Infill drilling of the Mineral Resource to upgrade and add to the initial MRE.
- Definition drilling of the high-grade areas where initial mining is to take place at a very tight 5 m centre drilling to permit appropriate statistical analysis of a high-grade gold deposit.
- Channel sampling of Iceberg zone and excavation and channel sampling of Lotto zone.
- Exploration of regional targets looking for the next major deposit.
Engineering studies and data collection programs to support the project development schedule include:
- Ongoing metallurgical testing programs, with additional work to further refine the flowsheet for the next phase of studies.
- Geo-metallurgical modelling of the refractory gold distribution to be incorporated into future block models.
- Condemnation drilling for siting of plant infrastructure, geotechnical and hydrogeological data collection programs.
- Trade-off and optimization studies with more detailed engineering to support a rapid, small mine development.
Environmental studies and data collection programs to support the project development schedule include:
- Complete the baseline studies based on the mine design and layout.
- Preparation of project description and submission of EA.
- Continued engagement with communities and government.
The potential timeline for the project with key milestones includes:
- Submission of an Environmental Assessment in H1/26.
- An updated MRE and technical report to support Phase 1 by Q2/26 with detailed engineering starting thereafter.
- Subject to project financing, long lead time equipment would be procured and early works program initiated in 2026.
- Phase 1 construction is planned to commence in 2027 with first production in Q3/27.
PEA Conference Call and Webcast
In connection with this news release, the Company's senior management team will host a conference call on
|
647-932-3411 |
Toll free ( |
800-715-9871 |
Webcast: |
A replay of the call/webcast will be posted to the Company website at www.newfoundgold.ca when available.
Preliminary Economic Assessment Study 3D VRIFY Presentation
A 3D VRIFY presentation to accompany the webcast will be posted to the Corporation's website at www.newfoundgold.ca on
Qualified Persons
The Study has an effective date of June 30, 2025 and a technical report will be filed on SEDAR+ within 45 days. It was authored by independent QPs and is in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
The QPs are David
The technical content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by Keith Boyle,
About
The Company has completed an initial MRE and PEA at Queensway (see
Recent drilling continues to yield new discoveries along strike and down dip of known gold zones, pointing to the district-scale potential of the 175,450 ha project that covers a 110 km strike extent along two prospective fault zones.
Chief Executive Officer
Follow us on social media at
https://www.linkedin.com/company/newfound-gold-corp
https://x.com/newfoundgold
Acknowledgements
Neither the
Cautionary Statement
The PEA is preliminary in nature, it included inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized.
Forward-Looking Statement Cautions
This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, relating to exploration, drilling and mineralization on the Company's Queensway gold project in
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The Company has included certain non-GAAP financial measures in this news release. These financial measures are not defined under IFRS and should not be considered in isolation. The Company believes that these financial measures, together with financial measures determined in accordance with IFRS, provide investors with an improved ability to evaluate the underlying performance of the Company. The inclusion of these financial measures is meant to provide additional information and should not be used as a substitute for performance measures prepared in accordance with IFRS. These financial measures are not necessarily standard and therefore may not be comparable to other issuers.
All-in Sustaining Cost
All in sustaining cost is a non-GAAP financial measure calculated based on guidance published by the
All-in sustaining cost includes both operating and capital costs required to sustain gold production on an ongoing basis. Sustaining operating costs represent expenditures expected to be incurred at the Project that are considered necessary to maintain production. Sustaining capital represents expected capital expenditures comprising mine development costs, including capitalized waste, and ongoing replacement of mine equipment and other capital facilities, and does not include expected capital expenditures for major growth projects or enhancement capital for significant infrastructure improvements.
__________________________
1 koz Au/yr = thousand ounces of gold per year |
2 AISC = All-in sustaining costs are the sum of treatment and refining charges, royalties, onsite operating costs, sustaining capital costs, and closure costs, divided by the quantity of ounces sold |
3 NPV5% = net present value at a 5 percent discount rate |
4 IRR = internal rate of return |
5 LOM = life of mine |
6 MRE = mineral resource estimate |
7 km = kilometres |
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