New Found Gold (TSX:NFGC) expects to deliver first mineralised material from its Queensway Gold Project in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, to its Pine Cove mill in the December quarter of 2027.
The company has released a revised preliminary economic assessment (PEA) and updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the 100%-owned project.
The PEA returns an after-tax net present value (5% discount) of C$1.78 billion ($1.81 billion) at a gold price of US$3,600 ($5,132) per ounce, rising to C$2.225 billion at US$4,100 per ounce.
The after-tax internal rate of return is 126% at the base price and 164% at the higher price, with payback in under one year.
The study outlines 1.744 million ounces of gold over a 15-year mine life, averaging 116,000 ounces a year and peaking at 190,000 ounces in 2032.
Head grade averages 13.41 grams per tonne in phase one and 2.09g/t over the life of mine, with projected recovery of 91.5%.
Cash costs are US$985 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs (AISC) are US$1,375 per ounce. Cumulative after-tax cash flow totals C$2.551 billion, including C$836 million from phase one.
Initial capital is C$149.8 million, unchanged from the 2025 PEA. Growth capitals C$832.1 million, up due to a carbon-in-leach circuit at Pine Cove, and sustaining capital is C$970.8 million.
The company expects cash flows from phases one and two to fund growth capital for phases two and three.
Underground ounces in the mine plan rise 86%, with underground mining due to start in 2030. An on-site Queensway mill is planned from 2031. The project is expected to create 530 direct jobs.
The MRE lifts measured and indicated resources by 38%, or 528,000 ounces, to 1.92 million ounces (27,325 kilotonnes at 2.19g/t), partly through the Dropkick Zone discovery. Inferred resources stay at 606,000 ounces (12,471 kilotonnes at 1.51g/t).
CEO Keith Boyle says the company has only begun to evaluate the project’s strike extent.
“We have only begun to evaluate the 110km of strike extent along two major fault zones,” Boyle notes.
The company held about C$167 million in cash at 30 September 2026 and has a further C$35 million debt facility available. It will file the NI 43-101 technical report within 45 days.
New Found Gold is a Canadian gold producer advancing a portfolio of exploration and development assets across Newfoundland and Labrador.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: New Found Gold
