All dollar amounts are shown in United States dollars
VANCOUVER, Oct. 30, 2019 /CNW/ - Equinox Gold
Corp. (TSX-V: EQX, NYSE American: EQX) ("Equinox Gold" or the
"Company") is pleased to announce that the Company's Board of
Directors has approved the start of Phase 1 construction at
the Castle Mountain Gold Mine ("Castle Mountain") in California. Castle Mountain is an open-pit
heap leach mine expected to produce on average 45,000 ounces ("oz")
of gold annually for the first three years of operations ("Phase
1") while the Company completes the studies and permit amendments
required for the Phase 2 expansion, which is expected to
average 200,000 oz of gold annually for an additional 13 years for
total life of mine production of 2.8 million oz of gold.
Early works construction has been underway at Castle Mountain
since the third quarter of 2019. Activities to date have focused on
detailed engineering, procurement, installation of piping and other
infrastructure, and heap leach earthworks. The Company expects to
commence installation of leach pad liners in November, with first
gold pour targeted for Q3-2020.
Construction Milestones Achieved to Date
- Detailed engineering complete
- Contractors mobilized to site
- Plant area and heap leach topsoil removal complete
- Site road upgrades complete
- First deliveries of pipe and liner material to site
Christian Milau, Equinox Gold's
CEO, commented: "Castle Mountain will be Equinox Gold's third
producing gold mine and our second mine in California. Construction of Phase 1 of Castle
Mountain is the first step in building a project that will
ultimately be a long-life 200,000 oz per year gold mine, bringing
significant benefits to Equinox Gold's shareholders, local
communities and the State of
California."
Project Highlights
Equinox Gold's Board of Directors has approved a Phase 1
construction budget of $58 million
based on firm supplier quotes following detailed engineering, of
which approximately $3.5 million has
been spent to date. The budget includes working capital and a 12%
contingency. Castle Mountain Phase 1 construction is fully funded
from Equinox Gold's existing treasury, cash flow based on current
gold prices and available funding facilities.
A significant portion of Phase 1 infrastructure and more than
50% of Phase 1 capital expenditures are considered "early build"
for Phase 2. The phased ramp-up approach allows the Company to use
existing permits to expedite production while completing the
feasibility study and permit amendments for the Phase 2
expansion.
Phase 1 will consist of a run-of-mine heap leach operation
processing primarily 12,700 tonnes per day ("t/d") of stockpiled
ore from previous operations. Loaded carbon from Castle Mountain
will be trucked to Equinox Gold's Mesquite Mine, 200 miles south,
and processed in the Mesquite ADR (adsorption, desorption and
refining) plant, resulting in increased operating efficiencies for
both mines.
Phase 2 will increase production to 200,000 oz per year and
throughput to 41,000 t/d of ore, of which 2,300 t/d of higher-grade
ore will be processed through a milling circuit. Although Phase 2
will operate within the existing mine boundary, the increased
mining and water extraction rates will require amendments to
permits for the Project. The Phase 2 feasibility study is
underway with completion targeted for the second half of 2020, at
which point Equinox Gold will submit the application to amend its
existing plan of operations and permits to support the Phase 2
expansion.
On Behalf of the Board of Equinox Gold Corp.
"Christian Milau"
CEO & Director
About Equinox Gold
Equinox Gold is a Canadian mining company with a
multi-million-ounce gold reserve base and growth potential from
three wholly-owned gold mines. The Company is producing gold from
its Mesquite Gold Mine in California and its Aurizona Gold Mine in
Brazil, and is constructing its
Castle Mountain Gold Mine in California with the target of achieving
production in 2020. Further information about Equinox Gold's
portfolio of assets and long-term growth strategy is available at
www.equinoxgold.com or by email at ir@equinoxgold.com.
Cautionary Notes
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
Technical Information
James (Jim) Currie, P.Eng.,
Equinox Gold's Chief Operating Officer, and Scott Heffernan, MSc, P.Geo. Equinox Gold's EVP
Exploration, are the Qualified Persons under NI 43-101 for Equinox
Gold and have reviewed, approved and verified the technical content
of this document.
Forward-looking Statements
This news release includes certain statements that constitute
"forward-looking statements", and "forward-looking information"
within the meaning of applicable securities laws collectively
"forward-looking statements". These include statements
regarding the Company's intent, or the beliefs or current
expectations of the Company's officers and directors. When used in
this new release, words such as "will", "would", "target",
"objective", "expected", "potential", "intended" and similar
expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking
statements as well as phrases or statements that certain actions,
events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "occur" or "be
achieved" or the negative connotation of such terms. As well,
forward-looking statements may relate to the Company's future
outlook and anticipated events, such as the Company's intention to
advance Castle Mountain to Phase 1 operations and achieve
production, to complete a feasibility for Phase 2 operations, and
to ultimately advance Castle Mountain to Phase 2 operations; and
the Company's belief that Castle Mountain Phase 1 construction is
fully funded based on the Company's current financial situation and
current gold prices and the Company's ability to achieve the
results anticipated in the Castle Mountain prefeasibility study, as
well as those risk factors identified in the Company's Annual
Information Form as at December 31,
2018 which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and EDGAR
at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements are based on information
available at the time those statements are made and/or management's
good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events and
are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in
or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date those statements are made.
Except as required by applicable law, the Company assumes no
obligation to update or to publicly announce the results of any
change to any forward-looking statement contained or incorporated
by reference herein to reflect actual results, future events or
developments, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors
affecting the forward-looking statements. If the Company updates
any one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be
drawn that the Company will make additional updates with respect to
those or other forward-looking statements. All forward-looking
statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified
in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
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SOURCE Equinox Gold Corp.
