Underground operations continue to progress at New Gold’s Rainy River Mine.

Ore from what is known as the Intrepid Zone has been mined since 2022.

The company says the first ore from its larger Underground Main zone was processed during its last quarter.

Chief Operating Officer Yohann Bouchard says that is ahead of schedule.

“Although the ore tonnage is still quite small, it marks a significant milestone in our plan to prepare the Underground Main sector for stooping in the first half of next year and ramp up to about 5,500 tonnes per day by 2027,” says Bouchard.

The amount of ore mined from underground operations continues to be a small fraction of the mining taking place, averaging about 800 tonnes per day.

Open pit operations are averaging almost 100,000 tonnes per day.

The mine produced 61,892 ounces of gold in the last three months.

This is about 3,000 ounces lower than what was produced in the same period in 2023.

Bouchard says operations were impacted by a voluntary shutdown following the death of a worker in the pit in July.

That led to their front-end loaders being taken out of service for a period of time.

“Additional safety devices were installed on one of the units and the same unit returned to production only a few days ago. The second loading unit is still waiting for parts and not necessary (available) for production in the short term”

As a result, the company has lowered its year-end production target by 15,000 ounces.

The company also continues with an ongoing exploration program.

While still in the early stages, it has identified potential areas that could extend the use of the main pit and open up some smaller ones.