Aurizona Expansion

Expansion Highlights

• After-tax NPV_5% of $314 million at $1,500/oz gold ($600 million at $1,800/oz gold)
• $464 million after-tax life-of-mine (LOM) cumulative net cash flow at $1,500/oz gold ($803 million at $1,800/oz gold)
• <$1,200/oz average AISC LOM
• 1.5 million oz LOM gold production at an average recovery of 90.5%
  • More than 160,000 oz peak average annual gold production from 2026 to 2029
  • 137,000 oz average annual gold production (LOM)
• $154 million underground mine initial capital costs, including $20 million contingency
• 11-year mine life with additional expansion potential from further exploration success

The pre-feasibility study contemplates a three-year capital development and construction timeline for the underground mine. Total initial capital costs during this period are estimated at $154 million. Leasing the mining fleet would reduce capital costs by $25 million. Sustaining capital for the life of mine is estimated at $383 million

Underground mining

The underground mine will be developed along a total strike length of 2.3 km beneath the Piaba open pit. Access to the underground mine will be via a ramp collared in fresh rock within the pit. The currently defined seven separate mining areas will be accessed by a 2 km main haulage decline with separate internal ramps. The first 800 m of the main haulage will be developed as a single heading to the location of the primary ventilation raise, which will also provide emergency egress. From that point onwards the ramp will be developed as a double ramp arrangement, with the second ramp used for ventilation purposes during production. All underground mine development is planned within fresh rock located on the hanging wall side of the mineralized body.

The proposed underground mining method is long-hole stoping due to good ground conditions and the steep dip of the deposit. The pre-feasibility study contemplates owner mining of stopes and underground development. Most of the stopes will include permanent rib pillars and be backfilled with rockfill sourced from the underground development and/or open pit waste. The requirement of cemented rockfill will be localized to higher-grade areas where mining recovery can be maximized by eliminating rib pillars and above sill pillars.

Open-pit mining

Open-pit mining is currently undertaken by a contractor using conventional drill and blast, load and haul methods.

The Piaba and Piaba East pits are currently in production and provide ore feed to the CIL process plant. Piaba East is a single-phase pit that is expected to be depleted by the end of 2024. Piaba pit will continue until 2032 to mine the remaining four phases of the design and also the crown pillar in the floor when underground mining is complete.

Additional open pit ore will be sourced from the Tatajuba deposit, located 4 km to the west of the Piaba pit, and from the Genipapo area, located 3 km to the east of the CIL plant.

Permitting and Timeline

The pre-feasibility study contemplates a three-year capital development and construction timeline for the new Piaba underground mine and a feasibility study is scheduled for completion in mid-2023. Permits have been received for three exploration decline portal locations within the Piaba pit, with the west end portal location available for development in fresh rock by Q4 2023.

Ore will be available early in the underground development phase, and Equinox Gold is reviewing additional opportunities to access higher-grade ore zones earlier in the underground mining schedule to enhance economics. First ore is released after approximately two years of development with steady state production achieved by Year 4. This production rate is maintained until mid-Year 7 and then reduces until underground mining is complete at the end of Year 10. The Crown Pillar between the Piaba open pit and underground will be recovered when underground mining is complete.