History
New Found Gold spent years drilling bonanza-grade gold at Queensway in Newfoundland, then turned to development with a first resource, a mine study and the Maritime takeover, funded by repeated share sales.
2021-2022: Doubling down on drilling
In October 2021 New Found Gold was drilling its Queensway project in central Newfoundland. Eleven holes at the Keats zone pushed the high-grade core 65 metres further down-plunge, including 61.50 g/t gold over 5.20 metres. Keats measured roughly 250m wide by 490m along strike by 307m deep and was open in every direction.
Eleven days later the company doubled its drill program from 200,000 to 400,000 metres and planned to go from nine rigs to fourteen by the first quarter of 2022. It paid for this from about C$103 million of working capital, rising to about C$150 million once Eric Sprott's non-brokered placement of 5 million shares at C$9.60 (C$48 million) closed. In August 2022 it signed an at-the-market facility with BMO and Paradigm, allowing up to US$100 million of shares to be sold into the market over time. That was capacity, not money raised. Shares on issue rose from 164.2 million at the end of 2021 to 175.4 million at the end of 2022.
2023: A string of discoveries
On 1 March 2023 the company announced Iceberg, a high-grade zone at surface 300m northeast of Keats Main, with 72.15 g/t over 9.65 metres. By 31 May follow-up holes had extended it to 550m of strike, and the company reported 1.8km of defined mineralised strike along the Keats-Baseline Fault between Iceberg and Keats. In June a single hole found Jackpot, with 95.71 g/t over 3.25 metres; follow-up drilling in September returned 146.67 g/t over 2.70m and 118.73 g/t over 4.10m, confirming the grade beyond one hole.
The spending was visible in cash, which the company reported falling from about $64 million in April to about $29.5 million in October. Through 30 September the at-the-market facility had issued 4,052,453 shares at an average of C$6.30. On 30 October the company agreed a bought deal with BMO and Canaccord for 7,725,000 charity flow-through shares at C$7.25, about C$56 million gross. Closing was expected around 6 November. Shares reached 186.9 million by year end.
2024: Seismic, deep holes and a new neighbour
In January 2024 the Honeypot discovery came in with 26.35 g/t over 7.65 metres, and the drill program grew to 650,000 metres. Cash was about $57.3 million. Further discoveries followed: Vegas, with 35.2 g/t over 16.85 metres, and Iceberg Alley, with 187 g/t over 2.55 metres. A seismic survey in March imaged structures down to 2.5km, and deep drilling began. By July the first deep holes confirmed gold at 820 metres depth, doubling the known vertical extent. In the autumn, trench samples at Keats showed high grades right at surface, and Golden Dome was found with 343 g/t over 2.15 metres.
Metallurgical testwork recovered 90% to 96% of the gold in April. The company agreed to buy Labrador Gold's adjoining Kingsway project for C$20 million in shares and closed in July, issuing 5,263,157 shares; its first holes there found Pistachio. In June it settled an Ontario lawsuit involving founder Collin Kettell, with 3.75 million shares going to the plaintiffs, only 370,000 of them newly issued. In November it hired SLR Consulting for a first resource estimate and economic assessment. Cash stood at about C$54 million in July. Shares ended the year at 200.5 million.
2025: From discovery to development
The record shows leadership turnover from November 2024 to March 2025, with Keith Boyle as chief executive and founder Kettell off the board. On 25 March 2025 came the first resource estimate: 1.39 million ounces indicated (18.0 million tonnes at 2.40 g/t) and 0.61 million ounces inferred (10.7 million tonnes at 1.77 g/t). Its grade was well below the drill headlines because the high grade sits in narrow veins, and it covered under 5% of the 110km strike.
In June the company closed a bought deal that grew to C$63.5 million, at C$2.29 for flow-through shares and C$1.63 for common shares, far lower than earlier raisings. The July economic assessment described a two-phase mine: C$155 million to build Phase 1 at about 69,300 ounces a year, then C$442 million for Phase 2 at about 172,200 ounces a year, giving 1.5 million ounces over 15 years. After-tax value was C$743 million at US$2,500 gold, with first gold targeted for 2027 subject to permitting. In August Sprott added C$20 million at about C$1.63, lifting his stake to 23.1%.
In September the company agreed to buy Maritime Resources at 0.75 New Found shares per Maritime share, valued at about C$292 million, and bought Exploits Discovery claims, taking the land package to 234,050 hectares. The Maritime deal closed on 13 November. Shares on issue reached 342.3 million by year end.
2026: Hammerdown and a larger raise
The Maritime deal brought the Hammerdown project and processing plants in the Baie Verte district. On 17 March 2026 the company filed a preliminary economic assessment for Hammerdown with consents from eleven qualified persons; the record does not show its figures. On 27 April it raised C$115.1 million by selling 38,870,000 shares at C$2.96, with the over-allotment fully exercised and Sprott and EdgePoint co-leading. It was the largest financing in the record. Bulk sampling and permitting toward 2027 first gold remained unconfirmed in the record.
Written from the 41 story beats below (2021 to 27 Apr 2026), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.