Development of the newest mine in northwestern Ontario continues to progress toward commercial production.
New Gold on Wednesday issued an update on construction at its Rainy River gold deposit, northwest of Fort Frances.
The company said the processing plant underwent successful testing last month with low-grade ore, and other mill components also operated successful tests.
The mining rate advanced from 125,000 tonnes per day in July to over 135,000 tonnes in August.
According to the statement, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry recently approved the design and construction of creek closures using sheet pile.
New Gold expects the refining portion of processing operations to be commissioned around the middle of this month.
"We are very much looking forward to Rainy River's targeted start-up in the coming weeks, " said President and CEO Hannes Portmann.
"We made significant progress in August...all process facilities are mechanically complete and in testing."
Ore processing is on schedule to begin within roughly the next 10 days.
The mine is expected to employ more than 400 people.
The Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission has said that over two dozen Thunder Bay companies have provided materials and services during the construction phase, with an estimated economic impact of over $70 million.
