Equinox Gold gains key federal permit for South Railroad, kicks off early works

Equinox Gold (TSX, NYSE-A: EQX) is starting early works construction at its South Railroad project in Nevada after it completed an important stage of federal environmental permitting, putting it on track for first production in 2028. Shares rose.

The BLM’s positive record of decision on the gold project marks the completion of permitting under the National Environmental Policy Act process, while the company has applied for other important state permits and water rights, Equinox reported Monday. South Railroad is about 700 km northeast of Las Vegas.

“Receiving the Record of Decision is a major milestone for the South Railroad project and advances our next phase of growth,” Equinox President Jason Simpson said in a release.

Incremental production from South Railroad will be the first big step towards Equinox’ goal of adding 800,000 oz. of annual gold production from its organic development pipeline, Simpson added.

Big post-merger step

The BLM decision for South Railroad, which gained Fast-41 “covered project” status in 2025, is the first major federal permitting milestone for Equinox since completing its merger with Orla Mining in July.

Equinox shares gained 1% to $16.25 apiece on Monday morning in Toronto, for a market capitalization of $18.8 billion (US$13.5 billion). The stock has traded in a 12-month range of $10.46 to $25.87.

South Railroad would rank among Nevada’s larger new gold developments, with production forecast at about 104,000 oz. annually over a 10-year life, according to an updated feasibility study released in January.

$783M value

Discounted at 5%, the open-pit heap leach mine has a post-tax net present value (NPV) of US$783 million ($1 billion) and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 48%, assuming a gold price of US$3,100 per oz. and a silver price of US$36.50 per ounce. At a gold price of US$4,500, the NPV rises to US$1.7 billion and the IRR to 95%. Initial capital costs are pegged at US$395 million.

South Railroad hosts 66.6 million tonnes of proven and probable reserves grading 0.71 gram gold per tonne and 5.1 grams silver for contained metal of 1.52 million oz. gold and 6.2 million oz. silver.

The project is situated inside a larger 25,000-hectare land package along Nevada’s Carlin Trend, a prolific gold belt that has hosted dozens of mines since the 1960s.