The Greenstone gold mine is located roughly four kilometres south of Geraldton, Ontario. Courtesy of Equinox Gold.
A lag in production ramp-up at the Greenstone gold mine has led Equinox Gold to cut its 2025 gold output forecast for its key operation in northwestern Ontario.
The open pit gold mine's original production guidance for this year ranged from 300,000 to 350,000 ounces, but that estimate has now been lowered to between 220,000 and 260,000 ounces. Equinox first declared commercial production at Greenstone on Nov. 6, 2024.
“Mine productivity and equipment availability, particularly with the primary loading fleet, have fallen short of plan, impacting mining rates and delaying access to higher-grade ore zones,” said Greg Smith, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Equinox Gold, in a June 11 press release. “Further, year-to-date mined grades have been below expectations, in part due to higher-than-anticipated dilution. On the processing side, while we are seeing improvements in throughput and recovery, year-to-date performance is also below plan.”
Smith added that for the second quarter of this year, the company anticipates consolidated production of 135,000 to 145,000 ounces of gold from Equinox Gold mines, including 45,000 to 50,000 ounces from Greenstone.
The company also shared that pro forma gold production for 2025 is estimated between 785,000 and 915,000 ounces, at total cash costs of US$1,400 to US$1,500 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs of US$1,800 to US$1,900 per ounce. These figures do not include output from Calibre’s Valentine gold project in Newfoundland and Labrador and Equinox’s Los Filos Complex.
On June 17, Equinox and Calibre Mining announced the successful completion of the merger between the two companies. The combined company, which will continue under the name Equinox Gold Corp., is now a gold producer focused on the Americas, with operations in five countries. The new company is centred around two key Canadian assets: Greenstone and Valentine.
Construction and plant commissioning at Valentine are nearly complete, with first gold anticipated by the end of the third quarter of 2025. When both mines are fully operational, Equinox Gold will rank as the second-largest gold producer in Canada.
The newly merged company will be led by Greg Smith, as CEO and director, along with Darren Hall, as president and chief operating officer, and Peter Hardie as chief financial officer.
