Canadian miners Equinox Gold and Orla Mining are combining in an all-stock transaction that will create a North American gold producer valued at about US$18.5 billion. 

The deal, which will see Equinox acquire Orla Mining for about US$5.1 billion, will bring together six operating mines across Canada, the United States, Mexico and Nicaragua. Together, the mines are projected to produce 1.1 million ounces of gold in 2026. 

Orla shareholders will receive one Equinox common share in the transaction, which is expected to close this summer, subject to shareholder, court and regulatory approvals.  

Following completion, existing Equinox shareholders will own about 67 per cent of the combined company, while Orla shareholders will hold the remaining 33 per cent. The merged company will continue operating as Equinox Gold. 

The newly combined Equinox Gold will be anchored by three cornerstone Canadian assets: Equinox’s Greenstone mine in Ontario and Valentine mine in Newfoundland and Labrador, alongside Orla’s Musselwhite mine in Ontario. 

The companies have said the Greenstone and Valentine mines are expected to produce approximately 450,000 ounces of gold in 2026, while the Musselwhite mine is projected to add another 235,000 ounces. 

“Our three mines in Canada will make us the second largest Canadian gold producer at 700,000 ounces of production,” said Ross Beaty, chair of Equinox’s board of directors, during a joint conference call on May 13. 

Beaty described the transaction as the latest step in Equinox’s long-running strategy to build scale through acquisitions and mine development. 

“From the beginning, we had one big goal—to build a great new gold company at scale,” he said. “Why have we focused on scale? Because it creates better resilience and diversification against risk, better valuation multiples, better liquidity, a stronger financial condition and, most importantly, greater leverage to gold.” 

Equinox previously acquired Calibre Mining in December 2025 and merged with Leagold Mining Corporation in 2020.  

Equinox CEO Darren Hall will lead the combined company, while Orla president and CEO Jason Simpson will become president.  

Simpson said the companies saw a “natural strategic fit” between their portfolios. 

“Both companies bring high-quality assets, strong operating teams and critically, a shared philosophy rooted in disciplined execution and long-term value creation,” Simpson said during the call. “This is a partnership built on aligned fundamentals.” 

Hall added that the merger also establishes a fully funded growth platform with a “clear path” to 1.9 million ounces of annual gold production through a pipeline of expansion and development projects in North America. 

That growth pipeline includes Equinox’s Valentine mine Phase 2 in Newfoundland and Labrador, the Castle Mountain expansion in California, Orla’s South Railroad project in Nevada, and its Camino Rojo underground project in Mexico. 

The combined entity is estimated to generate approximately US$3.4 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and US$1.4 billion in free cash flow based on current analyst consensus estimates.