Exploration at Kamloops' New Afton Mine Shows Signs of Life Beyond 2030

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The New Afton copper and gold mine just west of Kamloops is showing promising signs of being able to extend operations beyond 2030.

New Gold, which owns the mine, is examining the potential of extending various zones of the mine through new exploration targets.

The company is currently evaluating three areas of the mine: the C-Zone, the East Extension and the D-Zone, which together amount to a measured 418 million pounds of copper and 509,000 ounces of gold.

The company also reported "encouraging" drill results in the K-Zone, a new exploration area located about 200 metres east of the East Extension, and "promising" drill results in its AI-Southeast zone last fall.

“The engineers, they’re going out of their way in helping us out with extending the C-Zone — the height of the cave and also the shoulder of the cave,” Sean Tombe of New Gold said last week during a presentation at the Kamloops Exploration Group conference.

He said they are also currently evaluating the D-Zone and East Extension for economic viability.

“One of the things we’re doing right now is drilling off K-Zone, and K-Zone is potentially just a down dip extension from East Extension,” Tombe said, adding New Gold plans to share any results they get from that drilling.

In 2020, New Gold announced its plans to extend the mine life to 2030 and beyond. In the years since, exploration spending has increased as the company identifies new targets.

Annually, New Afton mine produces about six million tonnes of ore, typically yielding 7,000 ounces of gold and 85 million pounds of copper.

Courtesy: www.castanetkamloops.net