Equinox begins production at Castle Mountain Gold Mine
VANCOUVER, BC – Equinox Gold Corp. has announced that commercial production has been achieved at its Castle Mountain Gold Mine in California, USA.
Castle Mountain construction was completed on budget with no lost-time incidents and first gold was poured on October 15, 2020. Loaded carbon from Castle Mountain is processed in the carbon stripping and smelting plant at the Company’s Mesquite Mine, 200 miles south in California, resulting in increased operating efficiencies for both mines.
Equinox Gold expects to produce between 5,000 to 10,000 ounces of gold at Castle Mountain in 2020, with average annual production of approximately 40,000 ounces of gold during the Phase 1 mine life.
Equinox Gold is reviewing the potential for a Phase 2 expansion that is expected to increase average production to 200,000 ounces of gold annually. The Phase 2 feasibility study is targeted for completion in Q1 2021.
Christian Milau, Equinox Gold’s CEO, stated, “Achieving commercial production at Castle Mountain is an important step for what will ultimately be a long-life 200,000 ounce per year gold mine, bringing significant benefits to local communities, the State of California and Equinox Gold’s shareholders.”
Equinox Gold is a Canadian mining company with seven operating gold mines and construction underway at an eighth site, a multi-million-ounce gold reserve base and a clear path to achieve one million ounces of annual gold production from a pipeline of development and expansion projects. Equinox Gold operates entirely in the Americas, with two properties in the United States, one in Mexico and five in Brazil.
