The phase 1 construction includes a run-of-mine heap leach operation for primarily processing 12,700 tonnes per day (t/d) of stockpiled ore from previous operations
Image: Equinox Gold starts Phase 1 construction of the Castle Mountain gold mine. Photo: Courtesy of PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay.
Canadian gold producer Equinox Gold has announced its plans to start the phase 1 construction at the Castle Mountain Gold Mine in California, US.
Castle Mountain is an open-pit heap-leach mine with an estimated production of 2.8million oz of gold for total life of the mine.
Equinox Gold CEO Christian Milau said: “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.”
Phase 1 construction of the Castle Mountain gold mine
Castle Mountain is anticipated to produce an average of 45,000oz of gold per annum in the phase 1 operations spanning the first three years.
Following the completion of the studies and required permit amendments, the phase 2 expansion is expected to produce an average of 200,000oz of gold per annum, for an additional 13 years.
The company has approved the phase 1 Construction with $58m budget based on firm supplier quotes following detailed engineering.
Equinox Gold said that the early works at the construction were underway since the third quarter of 2019, and are focused on detailed engineering, procurement, installation of piping and other infrastructure, and heap leach earthworks.
The phase 1 construction includes a run-of-mine heap leach operation for primarily processing 12,700 tonnes per day (t/d) of stockpiled ore from previous operations.
Loaded carbon from Castle Mountain will be trucked to the company’s Mesquite Mine, located 200 miles (322km) south, and processed in the Mesquite adsorption, desorption and refining (ADR) plant, to enable enhanced operating efficiencies for both mines.
Castle Mountain phase 1 construction is fully funded from its existing treasury, cash flow and available funding facilities. Installation of leach pad liners is expected to start in November, and the first gold pour is scheduled for the third Quarter 2020.