Investor Insight

New Found Gold is an emerging Canadian gold producer combining a high-grade, district-scale flagship project with producing and processing assets in Newfoundland and Labrador to accelerate production, generate near-term cash flow, and drive long-term growth.

Overview

New Found Gold (TSXV:NFG,NYSE:NFGC) is an emerging Canadian gold producer with assets located in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The company’s portfolio includes its flagship Queensway gold project as well as the recently acquired Hammerdown operation, Pine Cove mill and Nugget Pond hydrometallurgical gold plant.

At the beginning of 2025, New Found Gold refreshed its board of directors and management team by adding a group of experienced mine builders and operators to support the company’s transition from exploration to production and build off its established exploration expertise.

In November 2025, New Found Gold completed its previously announced acquisition of Maritime Resources, creating a diversified gold company with both development and producing assets in a top-tier jurisdiction. The transaction brought together two high-quality gold projects — Queensway and Hammerdown — and added established processing infrastructure which has positioned the company to pursue a clear path to production and cash flow.

The company is currently focused on advancing Queensway toward production while bringing Hammerdown into steady-state gold production in 2026. This multi-asset approach is intended to support near-term cash flow generation while maintaining meaningful exploration and development upside through Queensway’s large, high-grade gold system.

At Queensway, New Found Gold has consolidated a district-scale land position and continues to advance technical work including infill drilling, grade control drilling, geotechnical studies and exploration programs. At the same time, the company’s ownership of processing and operational assets provides infrastructure optionality as development progresses.

Company Highlights

• District-scale land package at Queensway totaling over 230,000 hectares and covering over 110 kilometres of strike along two major fault zones
• Recently acquired Hammerdown operation, targeted for steady-state gold production in 2026
• Ownership of the Pine Cove operation (with a permitted mill and tailings facility) and Nugget Pond hydrometallurgical gold plant, providing processing infrastructure
• Strengthened management team and solid shareholder base, including cornerstone investor Eric Sprott

Key Projects

Queensway Gold Project

The 100 percent owned Queensway gold project is New Found Gold’s flagship asset and the primary driver of long-term value creation. Located in central Newfoundland, Queensway now spans over 230,000 hectares, following a completed land acquisition from Exploits Discovery Corp., and covers more than 110 kilometres of strike along the Appleton and JBP fault zones, highlighting its district-scale exploration potential.

Aerial view of the Queensway gold project, adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway near Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador

In July 2025, New Found Gold completed a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for Queensway, showing 1.5 Moz gold production over a 15-year mine life. The PEA outlines a phased development strategy designed to accelerate the project’s path to production. Phase 1 of the PEA focuses on mining high-grade, near-surface mineralization from the Appleton Fault Zone (AFZ) Core, with processing planned via off-site milling. This approach is intended to reduce upfront capital requirements while enabling earlier cash flow generation.

The AFZ Core hosts multiple high-grade gold zones, including Keats, Iceberg, Keats West, Lotto and Monte Carlo, which form the foundation of the PEA mine plan. Ongoing infill drilling, grade control drilling, excavation and geotechnical programs are being carried out to support mine planning, improve resource confidence, and advance future mineral resource updates. Recent drilling at zones such as Monte Carlo and Keats has returned high-grade results that generally align with the existing resource model, reinforcing continuity within the proposed open-pit areas.

Queensway’s neighbouring gold projects

Beyond the current mine plan, continued drilling along strike and at depth across Queensway has delivered new discoveries, highlighting the project’s potential for resource growth beyond the initial PEA scope. The combination of a defined development pathway, high-grade mineralization, and district-scale exploration potential positions Queensway as a central asset within New Found Gold’s emerging production-focused portfolio.

Hammerdown Operation

The Hammerdown operation is a high-grade gold project that New Found Gold is advancing toward steady-state production. The first gold pour from Hammerdown was announced on November 12, 2025.

Aerial view of the Hammerdown operation, near Springdale, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Hammerdown is supported by nearby processing infrastructure, allowing New Found Gold the optionality to pursue a production-focused strategy alongside ongoing development at Queensway. The operation is the first step in establishing the company as a new Canadian gold producer.

Pine Cove Operation and Nugget Pond Hydrometallurgical Gold Plant

New Found Gold also owns the Pine Cove operation, which includes a mill and tailings facility, as well as the Nugget Pond hydrometallurgical gold plant. These assets provide the company with permitted processing infrastructure in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Ownership of these facilities enhances operational flexibility and supports the company’s broader production and development strategy as it advances Hammerdown and Queensway.

Management Team

Keith Boyle — Chief Executive Officer and Director

Keith Boyle brings over 40 years of global mining experience, including extensive roles in operations, project development, technical studies, investor relations and budget management. Prior to joining New Found Gold, Mr. Boyle served as chief operating officer at Reunion Gold, where he fast-tracked the high-grade Oko West project in Guyana ahead of its acquisition for $870 million. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering and an MBA, and is a registered professional engineer in Ontario and Newfoundland & Labrador.

Melissa Render — President

Melissa Render is an exploration geologist with more than 18 years of experience focused on orogenic gold systems. She joined New Found Gold as a consultant in 2020, became vice-president, exploration in 2021, and was promoted to president in 2024. Ms. Render has led exploration programs worldwide across multiple gold belts and brings expertise in target generation, 3D modelling, data management and exploration program design. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Geological and Earth Sciences from Dalhousie University and is a registered professional geoscientist in Ontario and Newfoundland & Labrador.

Hashim Ahmed — Chief Financial Officer

Hashim Ahmed brings 25 years of finance, corporate strategy and capital markets experience to New Found Gold. He has held senior financial and executive positions across the mining industry, including most recently as executive vice-president and CFO at Mandalay Resources. His background spans royalty, mid-tier and senior gold companies. Mr. Ahmed obtained his CA/CPA designation with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

Robert Assabgu — Chief Operating Officer

Robert Assabgu is an experienced mining engineer with expertise in project management, engineering and operations. His career includes leadership roles at Inco/Vale and Hudbay Minerals, where he oversaw multiple mines, concentrators and technical services teams. He also played a key role at Reunion Gold on the Oko West project ahead of the G Mining Ventures acquisition. Mr. Assabgui holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mining and Mineral Engineering from McGill University in Montreal.

Fiona Childe — Vice-president, Communications and Corporate Development

Fiona Childe has more than 25 years of industry experience, beginning as an exploration geologist and later focusing on capital markets, corporate development and investor communications. Throughout her career, she has held senior management positions and consulted for mining companies, such as Mineros S.A. and Tau Capital Corp. with a primary focus on gold. Dr. Childe holds a Ph.D. in geology from the University of British Columbia and a professional geoscientist designation in Ontario.

Jared Saunders — Vice-president, Sustainability

Jared Saunders brings over two decades of experience in environmental science, regulatory compliance and stakeholder engagement. His background includes environmental leadership roles at Vale Newfoundland & Labrador and consulting project experience in environmental risk assessment and contaminated site management. Dr. Saunders holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences degree from the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario. He sits on the Board of Directors for Mining Industry, NL as Director – Exploration.

Jelena Novikov Fried — General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Jelena Novikov Fried has more than 20 years of legal experience in corporate, commercial and securities law. Prior to joining New Found Gold, she served as legal director, corporate and securities at lithium-ion battery recycler Li-Cycle, and practiced corporate and securities law with Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP and Bennett Jones LLP. Ms. Novikov Fried holds a Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia.

Nickel supply in 2026

The big question going into the new year is if nickel supply and demand will come into balance.

The most significant contributing factor over the last several years has been an abundance of supply from Indonesia, which has become the world’s top nickel producer.

The US Geological Survey estimates that full-year 2024 nickel production came in at 2.2 million MT, a staggering increase over the 800,000 MT it believes the nation produced in 2019.

In February 2025, the Indonesian government changed its quota system, effectively increasing nickel ore output to 298.5 million wet metric tons (WMT) from 271 million WMT in 2024. At the time, it said the increased production capacity was being limited to major production areas and was designed to reduce supply pressures.

The increase helped drive the amount of nickel sitting in exchange warehouses. Stockpiles at the London Metal Exchange (LME) had risen to 254,364 MT by the end of November, up from 164,028 MT at the start of 2025.

Meanwhile, the nickel price sank to US$14,295, toward the lower end of profitability for low-cost Indonesian miners.

The profitability question has raised the possibility of cuts — according to Shanghai Metal Market, the Indonesian government is proposing to cut nickel ore output to around 250 million MT in 2026. If the reduction comes to pass, it would mark a significant decline from the 379 million WMT laid out by Indonesia in 2025. Discussions on the final amount are ongoing, and the outlet states that it will be some time before the target is finalized.

“The global market is still forecast to remain in surplus — around 261,000 MT in 2026 — so further cuts would need to be significant to alter fundamentals,” she explained.

Additionally, there could be a wait-and-see approach as other new policies adopted by the Indonesian government in 2025 begin to take hold. The first, introduced in April, saw a shift from a flat 10 percent royalty to a more dynamic rate of 14 to 18 percent, depending on nickel prices. The second came in October, when the government cut the validity period of mining licenses from three years to one, providing the government greater oversight of production levels.

These prices, however, aren’t supportive of western producers, which began curtailing operations in 2024 when the LME average price was US$16,812 and reached US$21,000 in May of that year.

For her part, Manthy suggested that to get back to that range, there needs to be a more coordinated approach to constraining supply, and it may not make an immediate difference.

“To push prices to that range, cuts would need to be deep enough to erase most of the projected surplus. Given the scale — hundreds of thousands of MT — this seems unlikely without coordinated action. Even then, investor sentiment would probably require sustained prices above US$20,000 to materially improve producer attractiveness,” she said.

Nickel demand in 2026

The challenges faced by nickel go beyond oversupply; demand growth for the base metal is also soft.

Nickel’s primary use case is in the production of stainless steel, much of it destined for the Chinese housing market, which has yet to recover from its collapse in 2020.

While the Chinese government tried to stabilize the market in 2024 and earlier in 2025, it has done little to reverse the downward trend. According to a CNBC report on December 2, November sales were down 36 percent from the same period in 2024, and declined 19 percent through the first 11 months of the year.

“China’s property sector weakness has weighed on stainless steel demand, which accounts for over 60 percent of global nickel consumption. Even with broader economic growth, this stagnation has kept nickel prices subdued. A property turnaround would help, but given the surplus outlook, price upside would likely be limited,” Manthey said.

Adding to nickel’s woes is soft growth from the EV market.

Much of the increase in nickel production over the last five years was to fuel the need for EV batteries, but more recently producers like Contemporary Amperex Technology (SZSE:300750,HKEX:3750), one of the world’s largest battery makers, have shifted chemistry to lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP).

Nickel-manganese-cobalt batteries had been seen as superior due to their higher energy density and longer range. But recent advances in LFP technology have erased that gap, with vehicles using the chemistry achieving ranges of over 750 kilometers. Additionally, LFP batteries are cheaper to produce and less volatile, making them safer.

According to a December 1 Reuters article, nickel battery demand rose 1 percent year-on-year in September, while LFP battery demand increased 7 percent. However, the news outlet notes that most of the nickel demand was likely driven more by a rapidly growing EV market than by the benefits of its chemistry.

Although Reuters also notes that nickel chemistry remains the dominant battery technology in western EV markets, that too comes with a caveat, especially in the US, where the elimination of the EV tax credit in September has cratered EV demand. While US EV sales reached a record 1.2 million through the first nine months of 2025, much of that was driven by consumers seeking to take advantage of the US$7,500 credit before it expired.

Early data from Cox Automotive analysis indicates that American EV sales are down 46 percent in Q4 from the third quarter, and 37 percent from the same period last year.

Against that backdrop, Ford Motor (NASDAQ:F) has scaled back its EV plans, taking a US$19.5 billion writedown, and will pivot to extended-range EVs — which use gas-powered engines to augment range — and hybrid cars. Similarly, in mid-December, the EU dropped its plans to ban the sale of all internal combustion engine light vehicles by 2035.

These policy changes likely aren’t good news for nickel watchers.

“Any slowdown in energy transition policies adds to bearish sentiment for battery metals, including nickel,” Manthey said.

Nickel price forecast for 2026

Manthey suggested that nickel prices will remain under pressure throughout 2026.

“We expect prices to struggle to hold above US$16,000 given the surplus. Upside risks hinge on unexpected supply disruptions or stronger-than-forecast stainless and battery demand, but sustained levels above US$19,000 look unlikely under current fundamentals. We see prices averaging US$15,250 in 2026,” she said.

That’s in line with the World Bank’s 2026 nickel price outlook of US$15,500, rising to US$16,000 in 2027.

The primary reason for these projections is the ongoing nickel market surplus.

While it didn’t make a price prediction, Russia’s Nornickel, one of the world’s largest nickel producers, suggests that the market will see a surplus of 275,000 MT of refined nickel in 2026.

Low prices will be a challenge for nickel producers and investors alike. Until there is a shift in market fundamentals, a rebound for nickel doesn’t appear to be in the cards in the short or even medium term.

Lithium in 2025: A tale of two markets

In contrast, the second half of 2025 saw a boost in prices across the lithium space as market fundamentals improved due to Contemporary Amperex Technology (SZSE:300750,HKEX:3750) curtailing operations at the Jianxiawo lepidolite mine in early August. Despite reports that Jianxiawo would restart operations in December, it is unclear if the mine, which is one of the world’s largest, is back in operation.

Concern over the removed supply pushed carbonate prices higher from mid-October through the end of the year, when they rose from US$10,417.37 to US$14,131.44, a 34 percent increase.

Battery energy storage demand key to lithium growth

Another trend Klein pointed to was the rapid growth in the battery energy storage system (BESS) market, which is expected to grow by 44 percent in 2025, representing a quarter of all battery demand.

“We’ve been talking about BESS being a very fast, growing and big part of the market, but it’s now become the consensus opinion that it’s very strong not only in China, but elsewhere,” said Klein.

Although BESS is one of the fastest-growing segments of the battery market, Klein believes its growth potential is not fully understood. “The market’s probably still underestimating that narrative about battery energy storage,” he said, adding that it is only now starting to be understood by people who are in the industry.

“But for the broader, generalist investor who still equates lithium with EVs, they don’t fully understand the battery energy storage angle, so I think they’re still underestimating that,” said Klein. The market is projected to balloon from US$13.7 billion in 2024 to US$43.4 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 21.3 percent.

Industry analysts expect BESS installations could expand from roughly 205 gigawatt-hours in 2024 to between 520 and 700 gigawatt-hours by 2030, driven by renewable integration, grid stability needs and declining costs.

While EVs have dominated the lithium narrative, Del Real said the real opportunity was “never just a play on EVs or hybrids — it was a play on grid storage, energy storage,” with cheaper battery cells unlocking faster adoption.

That mispricing has created a contrarian opportunity, he added, noting that lithium’s neglect over the past six months has rewarded patient investors. “It’s lonely in the forest sometimes,” Del Real said. But when sentiment turns, “the re-rating can be spectacularly profitable if you know how to play it.”

Lithium exploration budgets evaporate

Lithium exploration budgets were sharply reduced in 2025 as miners retrenched amid prolonged price weakness.

S&P Global’s 2025 corporate exploration strategies study shows that spending on lithium and other critical minerals exploration fell significantly, even as overall non-ferrous exploration dipped only slightly.

Lithium, which had previously broken the US$1 billion mark for exploration spending, saw its allocation cut as junior companies tightened their belts and delayed programs. Cuts were most pronounced in traditional exploration hubs such as Canada, Australia and the US, where weakened junior sectors hit budgets hardest; meanwhile, regions like Chile, Peru and Saudi Arabia recorded relative gains in broader exploration funding.

Lithium remains a structurally important exploration commodity despite a sharp pullback in spending, Kevin Murphy, director of metals and mining research at S&P Global, said during a December webinar.

Murphy described the metal’s rise over the past decade as a “lithium renaissance.”

Once “completely inconsequential for exploration,” lithium has become the third most explored commodity globally over the past five years, underscoring how central it has become to future-facing supply chains.

However, that momentum stalled in 2025 as ongoing price weakness forced a reset. Murphy said lithium exploration budgets were “absolutely gutted,” falling to roughly half of 2024 levels, a decline he described as expected given depressed prices and the completion of several late-stage programs that wrapped up in late 2024 and early 2025.

“The lithium price has been depressed for too long for the budgets to be resilient,” he said, framing the downturn as cyclical rather than structural.

Lithium stocks stage H2 rally

Speaking at this year’s Benchmark Week event in November, Sean Gilmartin, senior equity analyst at Bloomberg, explained that lithium equities staged a sharp rebound in H2 after years of underperformance.

After lagging broader materials and chemical indexes for much of the first half of the year, lithium stocks surged in the second half of the year, closely tracking rising spot prices.

“Over a three year window, lithium names were still very much lagging,” Gilmartin said, “but we’ve flipped the script in a few months. Year-to-date, we’re seeing on average 47 percent gains, closely aligned with spot markets.”

He attributed the turnaround to stronger-than-expected lithium demand, particularly from BESS, as well as supply curtailments in China, which have tightened the market.

Despite the rebound, he cautioned that volatility remains a defining feature of the lithium equities space.

“You need to have a long-term view, and you have to be very adherent to your thesis,” Gilmartin said, noting that the demand story remains intact and that fundamentals continue to support growth through 2026 and beyond.

2025 gold price chart

Gold price chart, December 31, 2024, to December 22, 2025.

Gold price chart, December 22, 2020, to December 22, 2025.

The gold price surpassed that level again in early 2022 as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine collided with rising inflation around the world, increasing the allure of safe-haven assets and pulling the yellow metal up to a price of US$2,074.60 on March 8. However, it fell throughout the rest of 2022, dropping below US$1,650 in October.

Although it didn’t quite reach the level of volatility as the previous year, the gold price experienced drastic price changes in 2023 on the back of banking instability, high interest rates and the breakout of war in the Middle East.

After central bank buying pushed the gold price up to the US$1,950.17 mark by the end of January, the Fed’s 0.25 percent rate hike on February 1 sparked a retreat as the dollar and treasury yields saw gains. The precious metal went on to fall to its lowest price level of the year at US$1,809.87 on February 23.

The banking crisis that hit the US in early March caused a domino effect through the global financial system and led to the mid-March collapse of Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-largest bank. The gold price had jumped to US$1,989.13 by March 15. The continued fallout in the global banking system throughout the second quarter of the year allowed gold to break above US$2,000 on April 3, and go on to flirt with a near-record high of US$2,049.92 on May 3.

Those gains were tempered by the Fed’s ongoing rate hikes and improvements in the banking sector, resulting in a downward trend in the gold price throughout the remainder of the second quarter and throughout Q3. By October 4, gold had fallen to a low of US$1,820.01 and analysts expected the precious metal to drop below US$1,800.

That was before the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel ignited legitimate fears of a much larger conflict erupting in the Middle East. Reacting to those fears, and to rising expectations that the Fed would begin to reverse course on interest rates, gold broke through the important psychological level of US$2,000 and closed at US$2,007.08 on October 27. As the fighting intensified, gold reached a then-new high of US$2,152.30 in intraday trading on December 3.

That robust momentum in the spot gold price continued into 2024, chasing new highs on fears of a looming US recession, the promise of Fed rate cuts on the horizon, the worsening conflict in the Middle East and the tumultuous US presidential election year. By mid-March, gold was pushing up against the US$2,200 level.

That record-setting momentum continued into the second quarter of 2024, when gold broke through US$2,400 in mid-April on strong central bank buying, sovereign debt concerns in China and investors expecting the Fed to start cutting interest rates. The precious metal went on to hit US$2,450.05 on May 20.

Throughout the summer, the hits kept on coming.

The global macro environment was highly bullish for gold leading up to the US election. Following the failed assassination attempt on Trump and a statement about coming rate cuts by Fed Chair Jerome Powell, the gold spot price hit a then new all-time high on July 16 at US$2,469.30. One week later, news that then-President Joe Biden would not seek re-election and would instead pass the baton to Vice President Kamala Harris eased some of the tension in the stock market and strengthened the US dollar. This also pushed the price of gold down to US$2,387.99 on July 22, 2024.

However, the bullish factors supporting gold remained in play, and the spot price for gold went on to breach US$2,500 on August 2 that year on a less-than-stellar US jobs report; it closed just above the US$2,440 level. A few weeks later, gold pushed past US$2,500 once again on August 16, closing above that level for the first time ever after the US Department of Commerce released data showing a fifth consecutive monthly decrease in a row for homebuilding.

The news that the Chinese government issued new gold import quotas to banks in the country following a two month pause also helped fuel the gold price rally. Central bank gold buying has been a significant tailwind for the gold price this year, and China’s central bank has been one of the strongest buyers.

Market watchers expected the Fed to cut interest rates by a quarter point at its September 2024 meeting, but news on September 12 that the regulators were still deciding between the expected cut or a larger half-point cut led the gold price on a rally that carried through into the next day, bringing the metal near US$2,600.

At the September 18 Fed meeting, the committee ultimately made the decision to cut rates by half a point, news that sent gold even higher. By September 20, it had moved above US$2,600 and was holding above US$2,620.

In October 2024, gold first breached the US$2,700 level and continued to higher on a variety of factors, including further rate cuts and economic data anticipation, the escalating conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Hezbollah, and economic stimulus in China — not to mention the very close race between the US presidential candidates.

While the gold price fell following Trump’s win in early November and largely held under US$2,700 through the end of the year, it began trending upward in 2025.

Gold’s first breach of the US$3,000 mark came on March 14, 2025, as Trump implemented and threatened tariffs against a wide range of countries, including allies. The gold price continued to climb, moving as high as US$3,160 on April 2, when Trump announced his ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs.

We dive further into gold’s record-setting run and new all-time high in 2025 in the previous sections.

Investor takeaway

While we have the answer to what the highest gold price ever is as of now, it remains to be seen how high gold can climb, and if the precious metal can reach as high as US$5,000, US$10,000 or even US$40,000.

Even so, many market participants believe gold is a must have in any investment profile, and there is little doubt investors will continue to see gold price action making headlines this year and beyond.