Press release
Royal Gold Provides Update on Revised Life of Mine Plan for the Rainy River Mine
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) (together with its subsidiaries, “Royal Gold” or the “Company,” “we” or “our”) announced today that
About this update from Royal Gold, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":" DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nRoyal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) (together with its subsidiaries, “Royal Gold” or the “Company,” “we” or “our”) announced today that New Gold Inc. (“New Gold”) released an updated life of mine plan for the Rainy River operation in Ontario, Canada.\n\n\nNew Gold announced in April 2019 that it had launched a comprehensive optimization study with the overall objective of reducing capital spending and improving the return on investment over the life of the Rainy River mine. The updated life of mine plan is the result of that study, and key highlights as reported by New Gold today include:\n\n\n\nA mine plan covering the 2020 to 2028 period, which considers mining from a smaller and higher-grade open pit through to early 2025, with concurrent mining from a smaller and more selective underground operation from 2022 through 2027. Processing of stockpiled low-grade open pit material is expected to supplement underground mill feed during 2026 to 2028;\n\n\nOverall gold grade of 1.10 grams per tonne mined and 1.06 grams per tonne milled;\n\n\nAverage gold recovery of 89%;\n\n\nAverage gold equivalent production of 289,000 ounces per year1; and,\n\n\nProven and probable reserves of 2.636 million ounces of contained gold and 6.266 million ounces of contained silver as at December 31, 2019.\n\n\n\nThe mine plan was based on proven and probable reserves estimated at a gold price of $1,275 per ounce and a silver price of $17.00 per ounce. New Gold expects there may remain potential to extend the underground mine life beyond 2028 should the prevailing gold price support the development of additional mining areas during that period and/or exploration efforts increase the resource inventory.\n\n\n“While the reserves and mine life have been reduced at Rainy River, this new life of mine plan is expected to be more profitable and position the operation for sustainable free cash flow generation beginning later this calendar year,” commented Bill Heissenbuttel, President and CEO. “We are also encouraged that New Gold has highlighted the potential to extend the mine life beyond 2028.”\n\n\nNew Gold reports that it will file a National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”) technical report detailing the updated life of mine plan within 45 days.\n\n\nSignificance to Royal Gold\n\n\nOn July 20, 2015, Royal Gold entered into an agreem...