Equinox Gold bonanza drilling may expand Nicaragua assets

Equinox Gold (TSX, NYSE-AM: EQX) said new drilling at its El Limon mine in Nicaragua yielded the highest-grade gold mineralization discovered to date on the property.

Highlight hole EL-TMR-25-036, which is located along the so-called VTEM corridor, cut 10.8 metres grading 36.77 grams per tonne gold from 93 metres depth, Equinox said Monday in a statement. Another hole, EL-BAB-25-121, intersected 15.3 metres grading 8.55 grams gold per tonne from 126.6 metres downhole.

The results are the first to be released from a planned 100,000-metre program of discovery and resource expansion diamond drilling at El Limon, which Equinox acquired from B2Gold (TSX: BTO; NYSE-AM: BTG) in 2019. El Limon, which has produced more than four million oz. gold so far, “continues to demonstrate strong exploration upside,” according to the company.

“These results highlight the potential to extend the mineralized corridor both to the north and west of existing deposits,” National Bank Financial mining analyst Mohamed Sidibé said in a note. They also “reinforce the strategic value of the Nicaraguan assets within the broader Equinox portfolio, particularly as the company continues to integrate the Calibre assets,” he added.

Vancouver-based Equinox last month completed the C$2.56 billion ($1.87 billion) acquisition of Calibre Mining, which vaulted the company to No. 2 among Canadian gold producers after Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE, TSX: AEM). Equinox subsequently promoted chief operating officer Darren Hall to the post of CEO to replace founding shareholder Greg Smith, who stepped down.

Other highlights from results released Monday included hole LIM-24-5088, which cut 7.4 metres at 13.93 grams gold from 117.7 metres depth, and hole EL-TMR-25-031, which intersected 5.6 metres grading 22.18 grams gold from 234.9 metres downhole.

Resource expansion

Equinox’s exploration strategy in Nicaragua puts the emphasis on resource expansion and discovery drilling across existing resource zones and at high-priority targets such as the VTEM gold corridor and the mothballed Talavera underground mine. Talavera, which produced about 800,000 oz. gold when in operation, hosts about 630,000 oz. of inferred gold resource from 3.8 million tonnes of material grading 5.09 grams gold per tonne.

Its Nicaraguan assets operate as a “hub and spoke” platform in which ore from multiple open-pit and underground deposits is processed at either the El Limon or La Libertad mills. Equinox has more than 1 million tonnes of surplus processing capacity available at its Nicaraguan processing facilities.

“Over the last five years, we have successfully permitted and brought four new satellite mines into production in the country, typically progressing from discovery to first production within 18 to 24 months,” Hall said in Monday’s statement.

“Given the upside potential for new satellite mines, our permitting track record, and surplus milling capacity within the hub and spoke operating platform, we believe these exploration results continue to significantly enhance the long-term value of these assets in Equinox Gold’s portfolio.”

Equinox shares fell 1.6% to C$8.60 each Monday morning in Toronto as the broader stock market declined. That gave the company a market capitalization of about C$6.5 billion ($4.7 billion).