FORT FRANCES — The owner of the Rainy River Mine is reporting promising findings in a new exploration program at the mine site 65 kilometres northwest of Fort Frances.
In a news release Wednesday, New Gold Inc. announced "strong exploration results" from its first major drilling program since 2017, when commercial production began at the mine.
President and CEO Patrick Godin said the tests show the potential both for additional underground reserves close to existing infrastructure, and for additional open pit reserves.
The success to date has persuaded the Toronto-headquartered company to further increase its exploration budget.
It initially committed $5 million to this year's program, later increased it to $9 million, and has now decided to raise it to $12 million.
"Over the past two years, our focus at New Gold has been on operational excellence...Both operations [underground and open pit] are now consistently delivering," Godin said.
"2024 marks a renewed focus on adding value through exploration, and these results are a strong step in the right direction."
The most recent projection of the mine's lifespan anticipated it would keep producing until 2031.
However the company has also indicated the life of the underground mine could be extended beyond that, depending on exploration results and the price of gold.
Rainy River Gold has a workforce of over 800 and is by far the largest employer in the District of Rainy River.
