Site visit: Equinox Gold’s newest mine Greenstone to launch it into the 1M oz per year club

GERALDTON, ONT. — Through the slight haze of dust kicked up by a passing haul truck loaded with ore at Equinox Gold’s (TSX: EQX; NYSE: EQX) Greenstone mine, visitors can just see the deepening open pit that will soon take the company to its goal of becoming a million oz. per year producer.

The Vancouver-based miner poured first gold at Greenstone – the biggest of its eight operations – in May. Now, in late August, it’s reached 60% capacity and has welcomed dozens of guests to celebrate its official opening.

“Greenstone is now, by far, our largest gold mine,” CEO Greg Smith said beside a towering, 240-ton haul truck on the sidelines of the mine’s opening ceremony. “For a number of years, we've had a pretty well defined and well communicated goal to build a million-ounce gold producer. It represents a certain level of scale that we think is a good size for a multi-mine gold company.”

As more giant shovels load up the trucks with fresh ore from the pit, now only 50 metres deep, the company will reach 80% capacity in the coming months. By the end of the year, Equinox plans to reach full capacity at the mine.

Over the first five years, Greenstone is expected to produce around 400,000 oz. per year. That’s more than double the capacity of Equinox’s second-highest producer Los Filos in Mexico, at 155,000 to 175,000 oz. annually. Across its mines in North America, Mexico and Brazil, its 2024 guidance totals 945,000 ounces.