New Gold Inc. NGD announced that it inked a deal with Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan to acquire 19.9% free cash flow interest in the New Afton Mine. This move will give New Gold 100% free cash flow interest in the mine.

NGD’s Benefits From the Deal

New Gold’s fully consolidated ownership of the New Afton Mine will expose the company to 100% of life-of-mine cash flow with no equity dilution to New Gold's shareholders.

New Afton has significant potential to increase value by enhancing production and prolonging the mine's lifespan. New Gold is focused on exploration near the mine, allocating $17 million for this purpose in 2025, with a particular emphasis on the K-Zone.

Financial Details of New Gold’s Transaction

New Gold plans to finance the deal with its solid balance sheet and significant near-term free cash flow. The company will pay Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan a cash payment of $300 million, with cash on hand, borrowings from its existing revolving credit facility and a gold prepayment financing. 

Upon closing, all existing agreements between the parties regarding Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan’s free cash flow interest in New Afton will be terminated. This includes the previously announced $20-million one-time cash payment to Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in the event of a change of control of New Gold announced before Jan. 31, 2026.

NGD Stock’s Price Performance

Shares of New Gold have gained 60.8% in the past year compared with the industry’s 26.2% growth.

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New Gold’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

NGD currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks from the basic materials space are Idaho Strategic Resources IDR, Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS and DRDGOLD Limited DRD. These three companies have a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Idaho Strategic Resources has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 77.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 earnings is pegged at 78 cents per share, indicating year-over-year growth of 16.4%. IDR shares jumped 66% last year.

Carpenter Technology has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 15.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRS’ 2025 earnings is pegged at $6.95 per share. Its shares surged 91.2% in the last year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DRDGOLD’s 2025 earnings is pegged at $1.06 per share, indicating year-over-year growth of 29.8%. DRDGOLD shares jumped 57.6% in the last year.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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