VRIC Video: Beaty sees Canada-led growth after Equinox sheds Brazil

[Ben Graham]

Equinox Gold (TSX: EQX; NYSE-A: EQX) expects its two new Canadian mines to drive a step-change in production as it shifts toward a North America–weighted portfolio, chairman Ross Beaty said.

The Vancouver-based producer forecast 700,000 to 800,000 oz. gold this year, led by Ontario’s Greenstone and Newfoundland’s Valentine mines. Company guidance calls for 250,000 to 300,000 oz. from Greenstone and 150,000 to 200,000 oz. from Valentine, alongside 200,000 to 250,000 oz. from its Nicaragua complex and 70,000 to 80,000 oz. from Mesquite in California.

“It’s sort of one and one is three,” Beaty told The Northern Miner’s Western Editor, Henry Lazenby, last week at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference. Beaty said Equinox’s $2.6 billion ($1.8 billion) tie-up with Calibre Mining last year added operational depth as the company digests Greenstone’s ramp-up and Valentine’s early months of operation. Equinox exited Brazil last month by selling three mines for about $1 billion and used the proceeds to pay down debt.

Valentine, which poured first gold on Sept. 14 and reached commercial production on Nov. 18, is aiming to hit design capacity by the second quarter. The company wants to self-fund the next leg of growth, including studies for a Valentine Phase 2 expansion, while progress at Los Filos in Mexico hinges on securing long-term community agreements, Beaty said.

Watch the full interview below: