Interview with Keith Boyle, Director & CEO of New Found Gold
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/new-found-gold-tsx-nfgc-commercial-production-at-hammerdown-11907
Recording date: 23rd Sept 2026
New Found Gold Corp. (TSX / NYSE American: NFGC) has declared commercial production at its Hammerdown Gold Mine in Newfoundland. The milestone was achieved on August 19, 2026, after 60 consecutive days in which throughput, recovery and feed grade all cleared pre-set thresholds. Average throughput was about 748 tonnes per day, recovery was 87.7% and feed grade was 2.92 grams of gold per tonne. Hammerdown produced 9,140 ounces in the first eight months of 2026.
Chief Executive Officer Keith Boyle said the declaration has changed how investors engage with the company. Management had guided to 20,000 to 25,000 ounces a year at an all-in sustaining cost of about US$2,500 per ounce. Boyle said Hammerdown is now delivering against that guidance and expects annualised cash flow of about C$40 million.
The next focus is Queensway, the company's flagship project. Boyle said Queensway needs little mine development because the high-grade material is at surface. The critical path runs through the Pine Cove Mill. The company is first converting the circuit from flotation and Merrill-Crowe to Gravity-CIL, which should lift recovery on Hammerdown ore, and targets completion in the fourth quarter of 2027. Once Queensway is permitted, the company plans to seek an amendment to double the mill so it can take an extra 700 tonnes per day. Boyle targeted the fourth quarter of next year for that expansion.
Queensway's environmental assessment certificate is expected early in the new year. Boyle said Phase 1 material will be trucked to Pine Cove and that this phase carries production to 2031. A mill at Queensway is then planned to process the current deposit.
Exploration is the second theme. Boyle wants ounces available to fill the Pine Cove capacity after 2031. An exploration manager started in June and is assembling historical data on Hammerdown and Pine Cove. The Hammerdown ore profile is about 270,000 ounces at roughly 3 g/t Au. Boyle acknowledged it is not a large high-grade deposit but pointed to untested targets along strike, at depth and on parallel structures. A 10,000 to 20,000 metre programme is planned for next year, separate from grade control and infill drilling. At Queensway, exploration is being made more systematic after 18 months in which about 75% of drilling was deposit-focused.
Funding shapes all of this. Boyle said the company raised C$220 million in April and wants to reach Queensway production with the cash it has. That is why exploration spending is being paced.
For investors, the key items are the Queensway environmental decision, the updated Queensway resource estimate and PEA, commissioning of the Hammerdown crusher and sorter in the fourth quarter of 2026, and the first annual Hammerdown guidance. Risks include the permit to double the mill, which has not yet been applied for, the modest size of the Hammerdown ore profile, and the unproven nature of the new exploration programme. This commentary reflects the views of company management.
View New Found Gold's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/new-found-gold
Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe
