06:54 AM EDT, 09/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- New Gold ( NGD ) on Wednesday said drilling at the Rainy River mine in Ontario confirmed the extension of gold mineralization along strike at Intrepid and down-plunge at the ODM East and 17-East zones of the Underground Main.

Highlights of the results include 3.3 grams per tonne (g/t) gold equivalent over 7.5 meters at Intrepid, 2.6 g/t gold equivalent over 13.5 meters at ODM East, and 4.4 g/t gold equivalent over 7.6 meters at 17-East.

Drilling from the connection ramp between Intrepid and Underground Main also led to the intersection of sulphide-bearing gold mineralization above current underground mining cut-off grade and minimum mining width at the Gap Area target.

The company intersected 3.6 g/t gold over 4.5 meters and 7.7 g/t gold over 1.5 meters at the Gap Area target.

Results are expected to have a positive impact on Rainy River's mineral resource estimate at the end of the year and provide high-quality targets in the coming years.

The company plans to raise its 2024 Rainy River exploration budget by $3 million for a total of $12 million for 2024. The increased budget is expected to provide an additional 13,000 meters of drilling by year-end, targeting high priority targets including Underground Main, Gap Area, and Intrepid.