(All amounts are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated)

TORONTO


,


Aug. 4, 2022


/CNW/ –

New Gold Inc. (“New Gold” or the “Company”)

(TSX: NGD) (NYSE: NGD) reports second quarter results for the Company as of

June 30, 2022

. The Company will host a conference call and webcast today at

8:30 am Eastern Time

to discuss the second quarter consolidated results (details are provided at the end of this news release). For detailed information, please refer to the Company’s Second Quarter Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) and Financial Statements that are available on the Company’s website at

www.newgold.com

and on SEDAR at

www.sedar.com

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

Consolidated Second Quarter Highlights

• Gold equivalent
  
  ¹
  
  (“gold eq.”) production for the quarter of 70,514 ounces (52,431 ounces of gold, 7.4 million pounds of copper and 117,318 ounces of silver)
• Operating expenses
  
  ³
  
  of
  
  $1,277
  
  per gold eq. ounce
• All-in sustaining costs
  
  ²
  
  of
  
  $2,373
  
  per gold eq. ounce, including total cash costs
  
  ²
  
  of
  
  $1,296
  
  per gold eq. ounce
• Average realized gold price
  
  ²
  
  of
  
  $1,879
  
  per ounce and average realized copper price
  
  ²
  
  of
  
  $4.14
  
  per pound
• Cash generated from operations of
  
  $37 million
  
  , or
  
  $0.05
  
  per share
• Cash generated from operations, before changes in non-cash operating working capital
  
  ²
  
  of
  
  $27 million
  
  , or
  
  $0.04
  
  per share
• Net loss of
  
  $38 million
  
  , or
  
  $0.06
  
  per share
• Adjusted net loss
  
  ²
  
  of
  
  $17 million
  
  , or
  
  $0.02
  
  per share
• 
  June 30, 2022
  
  cash and cash equivalents of
  
  $277 million
  
• During the quarter, the Company provided an update to its 2022 consolidated operational outlook (
  
  refer to the Company’s
  
  July 11, 2022
  
  news release for further information
  
  )
• During the quarter, the Company successfully completed the previously announced redemption of its outstanding
  
  $100 million
  
  aggregate principal amount of its 6.375% Senior Notes due 2025 (
  
  refer to the Company’s
  
  May 16, 2022
  
  news release for further information
  
  )

“While the operational outlook changes to this year are unfortunate, our teams remained resilient during a challenging quarter and I remain confident that we are positioned to have a stronger second half of the year, and deliver on our updated guidance,” stated

Renaud Adams

, President & CEO. “Heavy rainfall and flooding in the quarter impacted

Rainy River’s

mine plan, but over the last month, we have made tremendous progress on our dewatering efforts and mining at the bottom of the pit has resumed. Our priority for the remainder of the year continues to be on positioning the open pit operations to their optimal conditions. Both of our operations also continue to review optimization opportunities and assess cost reduction initiatives to mitigate against inflationary challenges experienced across the industry. We continue to maintain a very healthy balance sheet while also paying down

$100 million

of our debt in the quarter, with no additional debt due until 2027. As we move forward and look beyond 2022, both of our operations continue to advance the Company’s mid to long-term strategy of increasing production and decreasing costs, leading to free cash flow generation. I strongly believe this strategy remains intact. All while we continue to execute on our drilling programs and assess the potential of our significant remaining Mineral Resource inventory. Finally, we have executed on strategic opportunities to secure our cash position and liquidity profile to enable us to execute on our short-term capital projects allowing us to unlock the maximum value at both assets.

At

Rainy River

, the objective over the 2022 to 2026 period is to execute a plan that extracts our remaining open pit Mineral Reserves at the lowest cost possible, and ramp-up underground operations as incremental ore to the mill, to maximize free cash flow. Our year-end 2021 open pit Mineral Reserve estimate at

Rainy River

contained approximately 44 million tonnes of ore at approximately 1 g/t (inclusive of low-grade ore and exclusive of stockpile material) at an attractive strip ratio of 2.32:1 per the latest technical report, which has further been reduced at the end of the second quarter. We are facing the same inflationary pressures felt by our peers and across the industry, but I remain positive on several opportunities available to us. The increase in fuel prices has had the largest impact to

Rainy River

, and one opportunity to reduce our fuel consumption is to minimize the amount of rehandling required to feed the mill by optimizing the in-pit blending strategy to maximize direct feed which will reduce stockpile movement. Our current technical report included approximately 22 million tonnes of ore to be rehandled during the 2022 to 2026 period. Minimizing this represents a significant opportunity to reduce fuel consumption, and improve grade at the mill, while reducing our carbon footprint. Other consumable prices have also increased, and we continue to evaluate additional opportunities to reduce our consumption. In the pit, we are improving on pumping, haulage conditions and other operational delays, all of which will have a positive impact in the near-term. Sequencing and better timing with mill operations will be key as we execute our near-term plans. Recently, we have experienced additional downtime at the mill, and we are working to address this and reduce our maintenance costs, as we look to increase our milling capacity moving forward. We continue to advance the development of the underground Intrepid zone with mining expected to begin in the fourth quarter. As we ramp-up Intrepid and incorporate other underground mining zones located below the pit over the next five years, our production growth profile at reduced costs remains very attractive with further potential to convert additional underground Mineral Resources to Mineral Reserves.

New Afton has historically proven to be a prolific block cave operation, a low-cost producer, and high free cash flow generator. We are working to return to these results as we near the completion of B3 development and continue to advance the C-Zone. With these new zones in production, we expect to return the asset, from 2024 forward, to years of low sustaining capital and higher grade, leading to increased production at low costs. Like

Rainy River

, New Afton has also experienced inflationary pressures however, mitigation efforts are underway including the ongoing use of a conveying system and continued efforts in electrifying the mobile fleet. These efforts should contribute significantly in reducing fuel consumption and improving our carbon footprint. Returning the mill to its full capacity should have a significant impact on reducing processing unit costs and we continue to assess further optimization opportunities. Exploration drilling programs continue to advance, with our priority on adding new higher-grade ore, to improve the mine life. There remains a meaningful inventory of Mineral Resources outside of the current mine plan, which could potentially provide further opportunities to enhance New Afton’s mine plan,” added Mr. Adams.

During the quarter, the Company provided an update to its 2022 consolidated operational outlook (refer to the Company’s

July 11, 2022

news release for further information). All other consolidated and mine site capital investment and exploration estimate guidance, including sustaining capital and sustaining leases and growth capital, remain unchanged.

Consolidated Financial Highlights

• Revenue decreased over the prior-year periods due to lower gold and copper sales volume, partially offset by higher realized gold prices. Lower sales in the quarter were impacted by the timing of concentrate shipments at New Afton of approximately 7,500 gold eq.
  
  ¹
  
  ounces which have been deferred to the third quarter, a quarterly impact of approximately
  
  $700
  
  and
  
  $140
  
  per gold eq. ounce on New Afton and consolidated all-in sustaining costs
  
  ²
  
  .
• Operating expenses were lower than the prior-year periods due to lower gold and copper sales volumes.
• Net loss increased over the prior-year periods primarily due to lower revenue and a higher loss on revaluation of investments, partially offset by lower operating expenses and a loss on revaluation of the New Afton free cash flow interest obligation in the prior-year periods.
• Adjusted net loss
  
  ²
  
  increased over the prior-year periods primarily due to lower revenues.
• Cash generated from operations decreased over the prior-year periods due to lower revenues.

Operational Highlights

• 
  Rainy River’s
  
  priority for the remainder of the year continues to be on positioning the open pit operations to its optimal conditions with the team focusing on operational efficiencies including optimizing the fleet and advancing our mining at an appropriate rate as the pit gets deeper and narrower. Significant progress has been made on dewatering the open pit and mining at the bottom of the pit has resumed and will continue to ramp-up throughout the year. Concurrently, the operation continues to make meaningful progress advancing the underground plan. The Intrepid zone continues to advance on time and on budget, with initial production expected to begin later this year. Advancing the underground plan is expected to lead to increasing production at attractive all-in sustaining costs, and at current commodity prices should generate strong margins and free cash flow over the next decade.
• Open pit tonnes mined per day decreased over the prior-year periods due to the adverse impact from heavy rainfall around the
  
  Fort Frances
  
  area in northwestern
  
  Ontario
  
  , resulting in flooding in the Rainy River open pit and impacting the mine plan. Approximately 1.1 million ore tonnes and 8.9 million waste tonnes (including 7.1 million capitalized waste tonnes) were mined from the open pit at an average strip ratio of 7.96:1. The higher-than-average strip ratio was a result of limited access to ore zones due to the in-pit flooding during the quarter, as such, equipment was re-allocated to advance waste and overburden stripping. The strip ratio is expected to average approximately 2.1:1 for the remainder of the open pit life.
• Tonnes milled per calendar day decreased over the prior-year periods due to extra mechanical maintenance and the processing of harder ore from the North Lobe. Mining from the North Lobe open pit is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023.
• Gold eq.
  
  ¹
  
  production was 43,759 ounces (42,516 ounces of gold and 93,210 ounces of silver), a decrease over the prior-year period primarily due to lower gold grade because of the use of stockpiled low-grade ore during the quarter. Quarterly gold grade milled positively reconciled with the reserve model and approximately 50% of the tonnes milled during the quarter was low-grade material. For the six-month period ended
  
  June 30, 2022
  
  , gold eq.
  
  ¹
  
  production was 103,654 ounces (101,349 ounces of gold and 172,831 ounces of silver), a decrease over the prior-year period primarily due to lower tonnes processed.
• Operating expense
  
  ³
  
  per gold eq. ounce increased over the prior-year period primarily due to lower sales volume and inflation-driven price increases of diesel, electricity, grinding media, and other inputs attributing to the higher unit costs. For the six-month period ended
  
  June 30, 2022
  
  , operating expense
  
  ³
  
  per gold eq. ounce was in-line with the prior-year period.
• All-in sustaining costs
  
  ²
  
  per gold eq. ounce increased over the prior-year periods due to higher sustaining capital spend and lower sales volume.
• Total capital and leases for the quarter were
  
  $45 million
  
  , and
  
  $87 million
  
  for the six-month period ended
  
  June 30, 2022
  
  , an increase over the prior-year periods due to higher sustaining capitalized waste mining costs as a result of the higher strip ratio. Sustaining capital
  
  ²
  
  during the quarter primarily related to
  
  $29 million
  
  of capitalized waste, as well as capital maintenance, and the advancement of the annual tailings dam raise. Growth capital
  
  ²
  
  primarily related to the development of the Intrepid underground zone, which advanced an additional 774 metres during the quarter.
• Free cash flow
  
  ²
  
  for the quarter ended
  
  June 30, 2022
  
  , was
  
  $0.2 million
  
  (net of a
  
  $7 million
  
  stream payment), a decrease over the prior-year period due to a decrease in revenue. Free cash flow
  
  ²
  
  for the six months ended
  
  June 30, 2022
  
  , was
  
  $15 million
  
  (net of a
  
  $13 million
  
  stream payment), consistent with the prior-year period due to an increase in cash generated from operations offset by an increase in capital expenditures.

Operational Highlights

• At New Afton, with the Lift 1 zone and recovery level now closed, the priority for the remainder of the year is to complete B3 development and ramp-up production in the fourth quarter. Additionally, C-Zone development continues to advance with first production expected to commence in the latter part of 2023. Gold and copper production are expected to significantly increase during the C-Zone period, with all-in sustaining costs to significantly decrease, leading to robust free cash flow during that time.
• Underground tonnes mined per day decreased over the prior-year periods due to the planned completion of Lift 1 mining activities, as well as the closure of the low grade-higher cost recovery level zone in June, earlier than planned. Production ramp-up of the B3 zone continued on schedule during the quarter, with development expected to be completed by September.
• Tonnes milled per calendar day decreased over the prior-year periods as planned and is currently incorporating lower grade surface stockpiles to supplement the overall lower tonnes mined.
• Gold eq.
  
  ¹
  
  production was 26,755 ounces (9,916 ounces of gold and 7.4 million pounds of copper), and for the six-month period ended
  
  June 30, 2021
  
  , gold eq.
  
  ¹
  
  production was 54,556 ounces (19,183 ounces of gold and 15.6 million pounds of copper), a decrease over the prior-year periods due to lower tonnes processed and lower gold and copper grades.
• Operating expense
  
  ³
  
  per gold eq. ounce increased over the prior-year periods, primarily due to lower sales volume, inflation-driven price increases, and a
  
  $4 million
  
  (
  
  $250
  
  per gold eq. ounce in the quarter) non-cash provision related to the write down of inventory to net realizable value.
• All-in sustaining costs
  
  ²
  
  per gold eq. ounce increased over the prior-year periods, primarily due to lower sales volume, and higher sustaining capital spend for the six-month period. Sales in the quarter were impacted by timing of concentrate shipments with approximately 7,500 gold eq.
  
  ¹
  
  ounces deferred to the third quarter, an impact of approximately
  
  $700
  
  per gold eq. ounce for the quarter.
• Total capital and leases for the quarter were
  
  $34 million
  
  , and
  
  $69 million
  
  for the six-month period ended
  
  June 30, 2022
  
  , a decrease over the prior-year periods, primarily due to timing of growth capital spend. Sustaining capital
  
  ²
  
  in the quarter primarily related to B3 mine development and tailings management and stabilization activities. Growth capital
  
  ²
  
  in the quarter primarily related to C-Zone development, which advanced 1,009 metres during the quarter.
• Free cash flow
  
  ²
  
  for the quarter and six-month period ended
  
  June 30, 2022
  
  was a net outflow of
  
  $43 million
  
  and
  
  $76 million
  
  , a decrease over the prior-year periods due to lower revenue.

• The Company will host a webcast and conference call today at
  
  8:30 am Eastern Time
  
  to discuss the Company’s second quarter consolidated results.
• Participants may listen to the webcast by registering on our website at
  
  www.newgold.com
  
  or via the following link
  
  https://produceredition.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1556145&tp_key=026884e3d6
  
• Participants may also listen to the conference call by calling North American toll free 1-888-664-6383, or 1-416-764-8650 outside of the U.S. and
  
  Canada
  
  , passcode 67678068
• A recorded playback of the conference call will be available until
  
  September 4, 2022
  
  by calling North American toll free 1-888-390-0541, or 1-416-764-8677 outside of the U.S. and
  
  Canada
  
  , passcode 678068. An archived webcast will also be available at
  
  www.newgold.com
  
  .

New Gold is a Canadian-focused intermediate mining company with a portfolio of two core producing assets in

Canada

, the Rainy River gold mine and the New Afton copper-gold mine. The Company also holds approximately 5% equity stake in Artemis Gold Inc., and other Canadian-focused investments. New Gold’s vision is to build a leading diversified intermediate gold company based in

Canada

that is committed to the environment and social responsibility. For further information on the Company, visit



www.newgold.com



.

Total Cash Costs per Gold eq. Ounce

“Total cash costs per gold equivalent ounce” is a non-GAAP financial performance measure that is a common financial performance measure in the gold mining industry but does not have any standardized meaning under IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. New Gold reports total cash costs on a sales basis and not on a production basis. The Company believes that, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, this measure, along with sales, is a key indicator of the Company’s ability to generate operating earnings and cash flow from its mining operations. This measure allows investors to better evaluate corporate performance and the Company’s ability to generate liquidity through operating cash flow to fund future capital exploration and working capital needs.

This measure is intended to provide additional information only and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. This measure is not necessarily indicative of cash generated from operations under IFRS or operating costs presented under IFRS.

Total cash cost figures are calculated in accordance with a standard developed by The Gold Institute, a worldwide association of suppliers of gold and gold products that ceased operations in 2002. Adoption of the standard is voluntary and the cost measures presented may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. Total cash costs include mine site operating costs such as mining, processing and administration costs, royalties, and production taxes, but are exclusive of amortization, reclamation, capital and exploration costs. Total cash costs are then divided by gold equivalent ounces sold to arrive at the total cash costs per equivalent ounce sold.

In addition to gold, the Company produces copper and silver. Gold equivalent ounces of copper and silver produced or sold in a quarter are computed using a consistent ratio of copper and silver prices to the gold price and multiplying this ratio by the pounds of copper and silver ounces produced or sold during that quarter.

Notwithstanding the impact of copper and silver sales, as the Company is focused on gold production, New Gold aims to assess the economic results of its operations in relation to gold, which is the primary driver of New Gold’s business. New Gold believes this metric is of interest to its investors, who invest in the Company primarily as a gold mining business. To determine the relevant costs associated with gold equivalent ounces, New Gold believes it is appropriate to reflect all operating costs incurred in its operations.

All-In Sustaining Costs per Gold eq. Ounce

“All-in sustaining costs per gold equivalent ounce” is a non-GAAP financial performance measure that does not have any standardized meaning under IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. New Gold calculates “all-in sustaining costs per gold equivalent ounce” based on guidance announced by the World Gold Council (“WGC”) in

September 2013

. The WGC is a non-profit association of the world’s leading gold mining companies established in 1987 to promote the use of gold to industry, consumers and investors. The WGC is not a regulatory body and does not have the authority to develop accounting standards or disclosure requirements.  The WGC has worked with its member companies to develop a measure that expands on IFRS measures to provide visibility into the economics of a gold mining company. Current IFRS measures used in the gold industry, such as operating expenses, do not capture all of the expenditures incurred to discover, develop and sustain gold production. New Gold believes that “all-in sustaining costs per gold equivalent ounce” provides further transparency into costs associated with producing gold and will assist analysts, investors, and other stakeholders of the Company in assessing its operating performance, its ability to generate free cash flow from current operations and its overall value. In addition, the Human Resources and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors uses “all-in sustaining costs”, together with other measures, in its Company scorecard to set incentive compensation goals and assess performance.

“All-in sustaining costs per gold equivalent ounce” is intended to provide additional information only and does not have any standardized meaning under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other mining companies. It should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. The measure is not necessarily indicative of cash flow from operations under IFRS or operating costs presented under IFRS.

New Gold defines “all-in sustaining costs per gold equivalent ounce” as the sum of total cash costs, net of capital expenditures that are sustaining in nature, corporate general and administrative costs, capitalized and expensed exploration that is sustaining in nature, lease payments that are sustaining in nature, and environmental reclamation costs, all divided by the total gold equivalent ounces sold to arrive at a per ounce figure. The “Sustaining Capital Expenditure Reconciliation” table below reconciles New Gold’s sustaining capital to its cash flow statement.  The definition of sustaining versus non-sustaining is similarly applied to capitalized and expensed exploration costs and lease payments. Exploration costs and lease payments to develop new operations or that relate to major projects at existing operations where these projects are expected to materially increase production are classified as non-sustaining and are excluded. Gold equivalent ounces of copper and silver produced or sold in a quarter are computed using a consistent ratio of copper and silver prices to the gold price and multiplying this ratio by the pounds of copper and silver ounces produced or sold during that quarter.

Costs excluded from all-in sustaining costs are non-sustaining capital expenditures, non-sustaining lease payments and exploration costs, financing costs, tax expense, and transaction costs associated with mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, and any items that are deducted for the purposes of adjusted earnings.

Sustaining Capital and Sustaining Leases

“Sustaining capital” and “sustaining lease” are non-GAAP financial performance measures that do not have any standardized meaning under IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. New Gold defines “sustaining capital” as net capital expenditures that are intended to maintain operation of its gold producing assets. Similarly, a “sustaining lease” is a lease payment that is sustaining in nature. To determine “sustaining capital” expenditures, New Gold uses cash flow related to mining interests from its consolidated statement of cash flows and deducts any expenditures that are capital expenditures to develop new operations or capital expenditures related to major projects at existing operations where these projects will materially increase production. Management uses “sustaining capital” and “sustaining lease” to understand the aggregate net result of the drivers of all-in sustaining costs other than total cash costs. These measures are intended to provide additional information only and should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.

Growth Capital

“Growth capital” is a non-GAAP financial performance measure that does not have any standardized meaning under IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. New Gold considers non-sustaining capital costs to be “growth capital”, which are capital expenditures to develop new operations or capital expenditures related to major projects at existing operations where these projects will materially increase production. To determine “growth capital” expenditures, New Gold uses cash flow related to mining interests from its consolidated statement of cash flows and deducts any expenditures that are capital expenditures that are intended to maintain operation of its gold producing assets. Management uses “growth capital” to understand the cost to develop new operations or related to major projects at existing operations where these projects will materially increase production. This measure is intended to provide additional information only and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.

The following tables reconcile the above non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable IFRS measure on an aggregate basis.

Consolidated OPEX, Cash Cost and All-in Sustaining Costs Reconciliation

Sustaining Capital Expenditures Reconciliation Table

Adjusted Net Earnings/(Loss) and Adjusted Net Earnings per Share

“Adjusted net earnings” and “adjusted net earnings per share” are non-GAAP financial performance measures that do not have any standardized meaning under IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. “Adjusted net earnings” and “adjusted net earnings per share” excludes “loss on repayment of long term debt” and “other gains and losses” as per Note 3 of the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements. Net earnings have been adjusted, including the associated tax impact, for loss on repayment of long term debt and the group of costs in “Other gains and losses” on the condensed consolidated income statements. Key entries in this grouping are: the fair value changes for the gold stream obligation, fair value changes for the free cash flow interest obligation, fair value changes for copper price option contracts, foreign exchange gains/loss and fair value changes in investments. The income tax adjustments reflect the tax impact of the above adjustments and is referred to as “adjusted tax expense”.

The Company uses “adjusted net earnings” for its own internal purposes. Management’s internal budgets and forecasts and public guidance do not reflect the items which have been excluded from the determination of “adjusted net earnings”. Consequently, the presentation of “adjusted net earnings” enables investors to better understand the underlying operating performance of the Company’s core mining business through the eyes of management. Management periodically evaluates the components of “adjusted net earnings” based on an internal assessment of performance measures that are useful for evaluating the operating performance of New Gold’s business and a review of the non-GAAP financial performance measures used by mining industry analysts and other mining companies. “Adjusted net earnings” and “adjusted net earnings per share” are intended to provide additional information only and should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. These measures are not necessarily indicative of operating profit or cash flows from operations as determined under IFRS. The following table reconciles these non-GAAP financial performance measures to the most directly comparable IFRS measure.

Cash Generated from Operations, before Changes in Non-Cash Operating Working Capital

“Cash generated from operations, before changes in non-cash operating working capital” is a non-GAAP financial performance measure that does not have any standardized meaning under IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Other companies may calculate this measure differently and this measure is unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. “Cash generated from operations, before changes in non-cash operating working capital” excludes changes in non-cash operating working capital. New Gold believes this non-GAAP financial measure provides further transparency and assists analysts, investors and other stakeholders of the Company in assessing the Company’s ability to generate cash from its operations before temporary working capital changes.

Cash generated from operations, before non-cash changes in working capital is intended to provide additional information only