EXTENDS K-ZONE ABOVE THE ELEVATION OF THE C-ZONE EXTRACTION LEVEL

New Gold Inc. (TSX: NGD) (NYSE American: NGD) is pleased to provide an exploration update for the New Afton copper-gold mine located in British Columbia, Canada. Underground exploration drilling conducted from C-Zone infrastructure intersected bornite-rich mineralization over strike lengths exceeding 200 metres and estimated true widths up to 40 metres. Copper and gold grades are proving to be higher in the bornite-bearing core of K-Zone compared to the haloing chalcopyrite-bearing copper-gold mineralization.

Highlights

• High-grade copper-gold porphyry mineralization intersected within bornite-bearing K-Zone¹:
  • 2.01% copper and 1.79 g/t gold mineralization (3.22 CuEq%) over 217 metres core length (40 metres estimated true width) in Borehole EA24-485 including:
    • 1.85% copper and 3.67 g/t gold mineralization (4.23 CuEq%) over 31 metres core length²
    • 3.23% copper and 1.98 g/t gold mineralization (4.62 CuEq%) over 78 metres core length²
  • 1.21% copper and 1.03 g/t gold mineralization (1.89 CuEq%) over 214 metres core length (22 metres estimated true width) in Borehole EA23-477 including:
    • 1.85% copper and 2.13 g/t gold mineralization (3.23 CuEq%) over 56 metres core length²
    • 2.78% copper and 0.49 g/t gold mineralization (3.15 CuEq%) over 42 metres core length²

“The latest K-Zone drilling includes some of the best mineralized intervals drilled at the New Afton mine and expands the mineralized envelope, highlighting the potential for a new mining zone close to existing mine infrastructure,” stated Patrick Godin, President and CEO. “The confirmation of high-grade bornite-bearing mineralization demonstrates the high mineral prospectivity around the New Afton mine and provides a high level of confidence as we look to grow K-Zone with drilling from the underground exploration drift. Combined with resource conversion opportunities such as C-Zone Extension, East Extension, and D-Zone, and several other near-mine and regional exploration targets, K-Zone is a key component in our strategy to extend mine life with minimal capital investment.”

The exploration drift, which is being developed to provide additional drill platforms, is scheduled for completion in June and will be utilized to accelerate exploration drilling in the eastern part of the mine, including better defining the high-grade extension of K-Zone. The Company plans to provide additional exploration updates to the market later this year.

New Afton continues to execute on its exploration strategy to extend the mine life beyond 2030. Exploration efforts remain focused on potential near-mine zones located above the C-Zone extraction level to minimize capital investment and maximize free cash flow generation. The Company continues to advance strategic opportunities for mine life extension, leveraging New Afton’s processing plant, infrastructure and tailings storage facility, which has sufficient capacity to process significantly more ore beyond the current New Afton mine life.

All new K-Zone drilling intercepts in bornite-bearing and chalcopyrite-bearing K-Zone are summarized in Tables 1 and 2, and Figure 1 below. Indicative copper equivalent (CuEq) and gold equivalent (AuEq) grades are included for context and estimated using price assumptions of US$3.50 per pound of copper, US$1,500 per ounce of gold, and US$21.00 per ounce of silver.

Table 1: New Drilling Results at K-Zone

Table 2:  K-Zone Drilling Location and Orientation

About New Gold

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 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.

Figure 1: Significant Drill Intercepts at K-Zone, Looking North (Mine Grid). Inset Shows Down-Dip View on K-Zone (175m Thick Slice) (CNW Group/New Gold Inc.)