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 of US$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 of US$1,090/oz Au in Years 5 to 9 paid back in less than one year.
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 to US$3,300/oz Au from base case of US$2,500/oz Au.
Total production: 1.5 Moz Au over a 15-year LOM5 at an average total cash cost of US$1,085/oz Au and an AISC of US$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.
VANCOUVER, BC, July 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ – New Found Gold Corp. (“New Found Gold” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: NFG) (NYSE-A: NFGC) is pleased to announce the results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (the “PEA” or Study”) for the development of the AFZ Core on the Company’s 100% owned Queensway Gold Project (“Queensway” or the “Project”) located near the town of Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The Study is the first conceptual assessment of the potential economic viability of gold mineralization on the 175,450 hectare (‘ha”) Project.
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The Company will hold a webcast to discuss the Queensway PEA results on Tuesday, July 22, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, which will include a virtual presentation and a question-and-answer session with analysts and investors. Please see dial-in numbers and webcast link below. |
Keith Boyle, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We are pleased to deliver the first economic study for Queensway, just months after announcing an initial mineral resource estimate for the Project. The PEA reinforces our conviction that Queensway can become a low-cost, high-margin, cashflow generating mine. This is a significant step in achieving our goal of building and operating a gold mine in central Newfoundland.
Since day one, the objective of the new management team at New Found Gold has been to advance Queensway to cash flow. The PEA outlines a phased approach with an initial small high-grade open pit mine with toll milling, followed by the construction of a larger on-site operation, which will include both open pit and underground mining. A phased project design provides for early gold revenue generation, processing of the highest-grade mineralized material at the start of the operation and in-pit tailings deposition. This unique combination of design elements allows for low initial capital investment, a rapid payback of that initial investment, using cashflow to grow the operation thereby providing for a superior rate of return, and minimizing dilution to shareholders.”
“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 Mr. Boyle.
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 Mill Feed |
27,373 |
ktonnes |
|
Phase 1: Off-Site Toll Mill |
1,150 |
ktonnes |
|
Phase 2 and 3: On-Site Mill |
26,223 |
ktonnes |
|
Average Head Grade |
1.85 |
g/t Au |
|
Phase 1: Off-Site Toll Mill (Years 1-5) |
9.64 |
g/t Au |
|
Phase 2: On-Site Mill (Years 5-9) |
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 Mining Rate – Phase 1 |
700 |
tpd |
|
Average Production Mining Rate – Phases 2 and 3 |
7,000 |
tpd |
|
Strip Ratio |
6.0 |
– |
|
Capital Costs1 |
||
|
Initial Capital (Phase 1) |
154.8 |
$M |
|
Growth Capital (Phase 2 and 3) |
584.9 |
$M |
|
Sustaining Capital |
325.4 |
$M |
|
Reclamation and Closure Capital |
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 |
|