New Afton mine explained

New Afton mine
Country:Canada
Subdivision Type:Province
State/Province:British Columbia
Pushpin Map:Canada
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Canada
Pushpin Label:New Afton Mine
Owner:New Gold
Place:Kamloops
Official Website:New Afton Mine
Coordinates:50.6598°N -120.5134°W
Discovery Year:1897
Opening Year:2012
Products:
Financial Year:2019
Amount:
  • 79 million  pounds copper
  • 69,000 ounces gold

The New Afton mine is a Canadian gold and copper mine located 17km (11miles) west of the city of Kamloops in British Columbia. The mine is underground and is owned and operated by New Gold Inc. In 2019, the mine produced an output of 79000000lb of copper, and 69,000 ounces of gold. The Afton Group covers 61 claims on 12450ha of property.

As of December 2019, the proven and probable reserves of the mine were 1.0 million ounces of gold, 2.8 million ounces of silver, and 802 million pounds of copper.

Staff

About 744 (2022) Kamloops-area workers work on site. These workers used to work shifts seven days on and then get seven days off. The mine has recently moved to a fourteen-day on, fourteen-day off schedule.

Geology

The New Afton mineralization is classified as an alkalic porphyry copper-gold deposit. The deposits are located in the southern part of the Quesnel trough, in the Nicola belt.

See also