Equinox Valentine gold mine hits commercial output

Equinox Gold (TSX: EQX; NYSE-AM: EQX) has achieved commercial production at its Valentine mine in central Newfoundland, the company announced on Tuesday.

The achievement follows 60 days of Valentine operating at 80% of its nameplate capacity of 6,850 tonnes per day. Valentine is about 450 km west of St. John’s.

“We see optionality to build a 1+Moz gold producer in the next three years available at a deep value discount to its gold producer peer group,” Haywood Capital Markets analyst Jamie Spratt said in a note on Tuesday. 

The company’s seven operating mines and five development projects set it up for a long-life production base that should reach Haywood’s modeled baseline production level of about 1 million oz. in 2026 with the addition of Valentine and Greenstone in northern Ontario, Spratt said. Valentine will generate about 194,000 oz. per year at all-in sustaining costs of $1,391 per oz. over a 12-year life, he added. 

“Achieving commercial production at Valentine marks an important milestone as we expand our Canadian operations,” CEO Darren Hall said in a release. “The operation is performing well, with plant availability, throughput, and recoveries exceeding commissioning period expectations. I’m incredibly proud of the team for responsibly and efficiently ramping up production ahead of schedule.”

Province’s sole gold producer

Valentine’s status marks it as the only commercially producing gold mine in Newfoundland and Labrador, two months after it poured first gold ahead of schedule and five months after it acquired the site through its purchase of Calibre Mining.

Gold recovery at Valentine is averaging higher than 93% on lower-grade commissioning feed of 1.2 grams per tonne gold, Hall said. Its output is forecast to reach the higher end of the company’s fourth quarter production range of 15,000 to 30,000 oz. of gold and Hall anticipates it will reach nameplate capacity by next year’s second quarter. That would amount to 150,000 to 200,000 oz. of gold produced next year.

Equinox is advancing stage two studies that could see throughout double to 5 million tonnes per year and up from 4 million tonnes in the 2022 feasibility study, Hall said.

Atlantic Canada’s biggest

Once fully operational, Valentine would be the largest gold mine in Atlantic Canada. It could produce between 175,000 and 200,000 oz. of gold annually for the first 12 years of its 14-year reserve life, Equinox forecasts. 

The Valentine deposit hosts 2.7 million oz. in proven and probable reserves grading 1.62 grams gold, contained within almost 4 million oz. of measured and indicated resources grading 1.9 grams gold.

Valentine is the second Canadian mine that Equinox has brought online within the span of two years. In November 2024, it declared commercial production at the larger Greenstone mine in northern Ontario, which is expected to deliver 330,000 oz. of gold during an initial 15-year life.

Equinox shares were flat at $17.44 apiece on Tuesday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at $13.9 billion. The stock has traded in a 12-month range of $7.13 and $18.94.