Overall project is 41% complete, and the engineering and procurement activities are 96% complete
Leach tank installation. (Credit: CNW Group/Equinox Gold Corp.)
Equinox Gold Corp. (TSX: EQX) (NYSE American: EQX) (“Equinox Gold” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that mining activities are underway at its new Santa Luz Gold Mine in Brazil (“Santa Luz”). Construction remains on track to commence commissioning in Q4 2021 and pour gold in Q1 2022, with the expectation of producing 110,000 ounces of gold annually for the first five years of operations.
Mining is underway to prepare for gold production in Q1 2022. The mining contractor, U&M Mineração e Construção S/A (“U&M”), mobilized to site in May and mining commenced in mid-June. Mining activities are currently focused on removing waste from two locations and developing access roads, ramps, dumps and ore storage areas in preparation for a pre-stripping campaign prior to mining ore in late 2021. To make room for mine expansion, U&M is also relocating an existing ore stockpile with an average grade of 0.9 grams of gold per tonne, which will be used for commissioning activities in Q4 2021.
Construction is on schedule and on budget, with approximately $31 million of the $103 million construction budget spent and $70 million committed at the end of June 2021. As a brownfield past-producing mine, the majority of site services and infrastructure is already in place at Santa Luz. Restart activities are focused on refurbishing existing infrastructure, retrofitting the plant to incorporate resin-in-leach processing, installation of additional grinding infrastructure and increasing the storage capacities of the existing tailings and water storage facilities. A significant construction milestone was achieved on June 25 with installation of the first segment of the ball mill.
Construction Highlights
Overall project is 41% complete
Engineering and procurement activities are 96% complete
Plant construction and refurbishment is 46% complete
Refurbishment of existing SAG mill is progressing well
Primary grinding is 75% complete
Secondary grinding is 52% complete; concrete foundations and pedestals for new ball mill are 100% complete, ball mill installation underway
Pre-conditioning, leach and detoxification circuit is 46% complete: concrete bases are complete, steel structures are being pre-assembled and tank installation is underway, with four tanks out of ten fully erected and four more partially erected
Earthworks for primary crushing area are underway
Electrical and substation upgrades are 90% complete
Electrowinning cells have been installed in the gold room
Completion of refurbishment of existing plant areas is scheduled for Q3 2021
Tailings and water storage facility expansions are underway with completion targeted for Q4 2021
Source: Company Press Release