New Gold Announces Mine Life Extensions at Both New Afton and Rainy River; Outlines Strong Free Cash Flow Profile Over Next Three Years

TORONTO, Feb. 12, 2025– New Gold Inc. (“New Gold” or the “Company”) (TSX: NGD) (NYSE American: NGD) is pleased to provide its three-year operational outlook and announces the filing of Technical Reports for the New Afton and Rainy River mines. The Technical Reports were prepared in compliance with National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”). The Company is also providing its updated Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource Statement as of December 31, 2024. The Technical Reports are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com and on the Company’s website at www.newgold.com. The Company will be hosting a conference call and webcast on Thursday, February 13, 2025 at 1:00 pm Eastern Time to discuss its operational outlook and Technical Report highlights.

The Company uses certain non-GAAP financial performance measures throughout this release. Please refer to the “Non-GAAP Financial Performance Measures” section of this news release for more information. Numbered note references throughout this news release are to endnotes which can be found at the end of this news release.

New Projects Drive Mine Life Extensions at Both Assets with Significant Upside Remaining

“Today’s life-of-mine plans successfully outline New Gold’s strong production profile with reducing costs, strong free cash flow generation and increasing net asset value, while also highlighting exciting opportunities to build on over the longer-term,” stated Patrick Godin, President and CEO. “Our exploration efforts translated to successfully replacing mining depletion of Reserves in 2024. At New Afton, the East Extension expansion adds high-grade material to a low risk, low-cost operation while C-Zone’s increased draw height extends mine life at no additional capital. At Rainy River, the Phase 5 expansion extends the open pit, accomplishing our main mine plan objectives to push processing of the low-grade stockpile into the future and keep the mill full to the end of 2029. The life-of-mine plans described in the two Technical Reports provide an excellent base on which the Company can build in the years to come. Significant upside and opportunities have been outlined at each project and I look forward to updating you on our progress.”

New Afton Life-of-Mine Highlights

• Copper and gold Mineral Reserves increased by 15% and 13%, respectively, compared to year-end 2023.
• C-Zone Mineral Reserves tonnes increased by 27% year-over-year with an increase in draw height to 450 metres, extending the New Afton reserve mine life to 2031. These additional Mineral Reserves come at no additional capital cost.
• The East Extension zone is added to Mineral Reserves for the first time, following completion of a technical study in 2024. East Extension, with copper and gold grades more than double C-Zone grades, adds high-grade, supplementary mill feed during the C-Zone production period, while providing a platform for further growth in the Eastern Sector of the mine.
• The increased Mineral Reserves are the basis for the life-of-mine plan outlined in the updated New Afton Technical Report. With the C-Zone block cave ramping-up production as planned, copper and gold production are expected to increase significantly through 2025 and over the next three-years.
• With the production rate returning to 16,000 tonnes per day by 2026, New Afton is established to deliver strong operating margins, driven by life-of-mine total operating costs averaging less than $30 per tonne. Together with a tapering capital cost profile, New Afton is expected to generate significant cash flow.
• Upside to the Technical Report remains with opportunities to optimize and extend mine life from the prospective K-Zone, HW Zone, and D-Zone. K-Zone, the focus of drilling in 2024, is not yet included in the Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimates as the zone remains open at depth and to the east and further drilling is required to define the extent of the mineralization. Drilling will benefit from the completion of a new underground exploration drift expected to be completed in 2025.

Rainy River Life-of-Mine Highlights

• The Rainy River Mineral Reserve, Mineral Resource, and Technical Report updates are the culmination of a comprehensive technical review, resulting in a 2% reduction in Mineral Reserves on top of mining depletion and providing a solid foundation for the life-of-mine plan.
• Open pit Mineral Reserves have decreased compared to year-end 2023, partly offset by increased Mineral Reserves in the planned Phase 5 pushback. The Phase 5 pit design has been optimized to reduce the strip ratio. No additional open pit mining equipment is required for mining Phase 5 and total capital waste stripping, for Phase 4 and Phase 5 combined, is estimated at $116 million.
• Underground Mineral Reserves increased to approximately 1.34 million ounces of gold, more than replacing depletion from underground mining, mostly through the expansion of underground mining zones.
• Gold Mineral Resources have increased by 76% compared to year-end 2023, driven by a significant expansion of the open pit resource pit shell. Technical studies are planned to evaluate these opportunities, with an objective to further extend the open pit mine life.
• The updated Rainy River life-of-mine plan maintains a strong gold production profile, averaging approximately 300,000 ounces per year over the next three years. Inclusion of Phase 5 for the first time extends open pit mining to 2028, defers processing of the low-grade stockpile, and keeps the mill at full capacity until the end of 2029, while providing a platform for further open pit extension.
• The total unit operating cost is expected to remain relatively flat at $27 to $34 per tonne over the next five years, increasing from 2030 when only higher-grade underground ore is processed. Underground unit mining costs are expected to reduce as the underground mine ramps up to a steady-state production rate of approximately 5,800 tonnes per day by 2027, and as development requirements taper off.
• In addition to the open pit conversion opportunities noted above, further potential exists to expand existing near-surface and underground zones and identify new targets. 2024 was the first major drilling campaign at Rainy River since 2017, and initial results are already providing promising results.

2025 to Highlight Increasing Production and Decreasing Costs Leading to Strong Free Cash Flow Generation

“In 2024, the Company reached a free cash flow inflection point and 2025 will continue to build on that. This year, we expect to see the value from the significant investments made in recent years on our growth projects through increased production, decreasing costs, and substantial free cash flow generation,” added Mr. Godin.

• Consolidated gold production is expected to increase by approximately 16% to 325,000 to 365,000 ounces in 2025, compared to 2024, driven by increasing production at Rainy River.
• Copper production is expected to be in-line with 2024 at 50 to 60 million pounds as the ramp-up in C-Zone throughput is offset by planned lower grades from both the exhaustion of the B3 cave and first draw bells from C-Zone.
• All-in sustaining costs (on a by-product basis)¹ are expected to decrease by $215 per ounce or 17% compared to the 2024 midpoint of guidance to between $1,025 to $1,125 per ounce in 2025, driven by higher production and lower operating costs from the New Afton C-Zone crusher and conveyor system and as the Rainy River Phase 4 strip ratio decreases.
• Total capital is expected to be $270 to $315 million, in-line with the 2024 guidance range, as New Afton C-Zone and Rainy River underground Main continue to ramp up and as development starts at the New Afton East Extension and Rainy River Phase 5 expansions.

Strong Free Cash Flow Yield Over Three-Year Period

“Our three-year outlook illustrates the significant margins our low-cost operations plan to achieve. Given the significant reduction in costs and expanding margins, at current commodity prices, New Gold is expected to generate significant cash flow over the next three years, translating to an impressive free cash flow yield through 2027,” added Mr. Godin.

• 2026 and 2027 consolidated gold production is expected to be 55% higher (435,000 to 490,000 ounces) and 37% higher (375,000 to 445,000 ounces), respectively compared to 298,303 ounces in 2024 driven by increasing production profiles at both Rainy River and New Afton as growth projects are completed and ramped up in the near-term.
• Copper production continues to increase with 2027 copper production expected to be between 95 to 115 million pounds, approximately 94% higher than 2024 driven by increased grade and throughput from New Afton’s C-Zone.
• All-in sustaining costs (on a by-product basis)¹ are expected to decrease by approximately 70% compared to the 2024 midpoint of guidance to between $400 and $500 per ounce driven by lower total cash costs, higher production from both operations, higher copper by-product and lower sustaining capital as the Rainy River Phase 5 expansion is completed in 2026.
• 2027 total capital is expected to be $70 to $95 million, decreasing significantly compared to 2024 as the New Afton C-Zone and East Extension infrastructure, Rainy River underground Main infrastructure and Rainy River Phase 5 expansion are completed.
• The higher production, lower costs, and lower capital spend over the 2025 to 2027 period are expected to drive increasing margins and generate significant free cash flow² for the Company.

Continuing to Prioritize Organic Growth Through Exploration

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