Equinox Gold has boosted resources at its Aurizona gold mine in northeastern California and reserves and resources at its Mesquite gold mine in California. Since the end of 2017 the company has increased its reserves 470% to 5.5 million oz. gold.
The company updated Aurizona's resource with 13,635 metres of infill and step out drilling on the western end of the Piaba deposit completed since July 2017. While the project's reserves remain unchanged, the company increased its measured and indicated resource 50% to 12.7 million tonnes grading 1.68 grams gold for 691,776 oz. gold and its inferred resource 115% to 16.9 million tonnes at 1.98 grams gold for 1.07 million oz. gold, 50% and 115% increases respectively.
After acquiring Mesquite in October 2018, the company had to complete an updated reserve and resource estimate and National Instrument 43-101 report for the project.
Equinox increased the project's measured and indicated resources by 61% to 127.9 million lb. grading 0.46 gram gold for 1.89 million oz. gold. At the same time the company decreased the project's reserves to 54.6 million proven and probable tonnes at 0.57 gram gold for 1 million oz. gold.
Its new report says Mequite will produce 682,800 oz. gold from current reserves over 3.25 years of mining and three more years of residual leach. It assigns the project a $203 million after-tax net present value at a 5% discount rate.
(This article first appeared in The Northern Miner.)