New Gold Sees 2% Annual Increase in Q4 Gold Output
Fri Jan 10 2025
New Gold Inc. NGD - reported a 2% year-over-year increase in gold production in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 80,438 ounces. This was attributed to the solid performance at the New Afton mine, which offset lower production at the Rainy River mine due to operational challenges encountered in December. It was the highest production quarter in 2024.
NGD’s gold production reached 298,303 ounces in 2024, whereas its guidance was 300,000-310,000 ounces. Better-than-expected performance at New Afton was offset by loss of production at Rainy River due to the unexpected mechanical down-time.
New Gold’s copper production was at 14.5 million pounds for the fourth quarter, up 20% year over year. The annual copper production totaled 54 million pounds, within the company’s guidance of 50-60 million pounds.
New Gold’s Significant Achievements in Q4
In the quarter, New Gold achieved milestones, including the initiation of commercial production at C-Zone, New Afton's fourth block cave and the extraction of the first ore from Underground Main at Rainy River. Both were completed ahead of schedule.
Underground Main contains the majority of underground mineral reserves at Rainy River and will be an important source of higher-grade production in the coming years. It is expected to achieve the production target of 5,500 tons per day by 2027.
Gold Production at New Afton Exceeds NGD’s Expectations
The New Afton mine produced 19,652 ounces of gold and 14.5 million pounds of copper in the fourth quarter. Gold production increased 19% and copper production rose 15% from the third quarter of 2024. The B3 cave performed per expectations.
Following commercial production and crusher commissioning done earlier in the fourth quarter, production at C-Zone is ramping up per plans.
For 2024, the total gold production at New Afton was 72,609 pounces, surpassing the company’s guidance of 60,000-70,000. Copper production in 2024 was 54 million pounds, within NGD’s stated range of 50-60 million pounds.
Rainy River Misses NGD’s Target on Mechanical Issues
In December, output at Rainy River was impacted by an unexpected mechanical downtime on the crushing and conveying system, leading to lower-than-expected throughput. Gold production was 60,786 ounces for the fourth quarter. Total gold production from the mine was 225,694 ounces in 2024, lower than New Gold’s expectation of 230,000-240,000 ounces.
New Gold FY24 Results to Gain on Higher Production & Prices
New Gold anticipates consolidated all-in sustaining costs for 2024 to be at the low end of its guidance of $1,240-$1,340 per gold ounce sold on a by-product basis. The company will provide further details when it releases its fourth quarter and 2024 results after market close on Feb. 19, 2025. Improved production numbers, and upbeat gold and copper prices are expected to get reflected in NGD’s results.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NGD’s fiscal 2024 revenues is pegged at $961 million, indicating year-over-year growth of 22%. The estimate for earnings is at 18 cents, which suggests a 157% surge.
NGD Stock Price Performance
Shares of New Gold have soared 106% in the past year compared with the non-ferrous mining industry's 21.5% growth.
Q4 Performance of NGD Key Competitor
Equinox Gold Corp. (EQX - Free Report) announced a fourth-quarter 2024 gold production of 213,960 ounces, marking its strongest quarterly production. EQX’s record gold production in the fourth quarter was driven by several of its mines producing their strongest quarter in the company's history.
Equinox Gold reported a preliminary annual gold production of a record 621,870 ounces for 2024. The figure was within the company’s guidance of 590,000-675,000 ounces
NGD Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
New Gold currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks from the basic materials space are Carpenter Technology Corporation ( CRS) and Fortuna Mining Corp. ( FSM -) . CRS sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present and FSM carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Carpenter Technology has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 14.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRS’s fiscal 2025 earnings is pegged at $6.77 per share, suggesting 42.8% year-over-year growth. Its shares have skyrocketed 187% in a year.
Fortuna Mining has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 53.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FSM’s 2025 earnings is pegged at 56 cents per share, indicating year-over-year growth of 6.6%. FSM shares gained 24% last year.
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