Canadian mining company Equinox Gold has announced the first gold pour from its Castle Mountain gold mine in California, US.
Located in San Bernardino County, California, US, the Castle Mountain gold mine is an open-pit mine and it is being developed in two phases.
The first gold pour at Castle Mountain follows the completion of construction on the first phase of the mine last month.
The first phase of mine is estimated to run for three years and is expected to produce approximately 45,000oz of gold per year.
Equinox Gold CEO Christian Milau said: “Pouring first gold at Castle Mountain, our newest producing mine in the Americas and our second operating mine in California, launches what will be a long-life flagship asset for the company.
“I’d like to thank our employees, consultants, San Bernardino County and the State of California for their support and efforts as we brought the Castle Mountain Mine to production on time, on budget and with no lost-time injuries, all while managing through the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Second phase of Castle Mountain is estimated to run from four to 16 years
Estimated to run from four to 16 years, the second phase of the mine is expected to produce nearly 203,000oz of gold annually.
Over the initial mine life of 16 years, the Castle Mountain mine is predicted to produce 2.8Moz of gold.
The loaded carbon from Castle Mountain mine will be processed in the carbon stripping and smelting plant at the company’s Mesquite Mine. This is estimated to result in increased operating efficiencies for both the mines.
