Canada-based Equinox Gold has poured first gold at its new Santa Luz mine, in Brazil, with the operation now set to ramp up commercial production over the next few months.
When operating at capacity, the new mine will produce about 100 000 oz/y of gold. During 2022, with a partial year of production, Santa Luz is expected to produce 70 000 oz to 90 000 oz.
“Completing construction safely, on time and on budget, despite the additional challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, is testament to the team's hard work and dedication to the project. We are also celebrating Santa Luz's achievement of three-million work hours without a lost-time injury,” said Equinox CEO Christian Milau.
Santa Luz is the second project Equinox Gold has built in Brazil and its third since starting the company. With Santa Luz ramping up to full production, the miner’s focus is now on constructing the Greenstone project in Ontario, Canada, with first gold pour targeted for the first half of 2024.
Equinox Gold also reported that plant operations at the RDM mine, in Brazil, resumed on March 14, following a temporary suspension on February 26 to reduce water levels in the tailings storage facility in compliance with a Brazilian legislative change declared in February 2022.
Mining and stockpiling of ore continued during the suspension of plant operations.