New Gold receives New Afton B3 zone mining permit

New Afton mine. Image from New Gold.

New Gold Inc. (TSX: NGD) has been granted its mining permit for the B3 zone of the New Afton mine, located west of Kamloops, British Columbia.

On Tuesday, the company announced that the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation has issued the Mines Act permit to enable mining of the B3 zone.

With the receipt of the B3 permit, ore extraction activities are set to begin this quarter and ramp up over the year.

“This is a significant milestone for the New Afton mine,” president and CEO Renaud Adams said in a media release.

Meanwhile, development of the C-Zone continues to advance, with C-Zone extraction expected to begin in the second half of 2023.

New Gold initiated the C-Zone permitting process during the first quarter, with the submission of the pre-application package to the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, and Indigenous groups.

Shares of New Gold gained 2.3% as of noon ET Tuesday, giving the Canadian gold producer a market capitalization of C$1.68 billion.