The Greenstone Gold Mine is a C$1.2 billion open-pit gold mining operation located approximately 275km northeast of Thunder Bay, near Geraldton, Ontario, Canada, developed by Equinox Gold (60%) and Orion Mine Finance (40%) on the site of the historic Hardrock, MacLeod-Cockshutt, and Mosher underground mines that operated from the late 1930s to the 1970s. Designed to process 27,000 tonnes of ore per day through a conventional crush-grind-leach circuit, Greenstone is one of Canada’s largest and highest-grade open-pit gold mines, with an expected life-of-mine output of 5.2 million ounces over 15 years. First gold was poured on May 23, 2024, on schedule, and commercial production was declared on November 6, 2024, following three years of construction, though a slow ramp-up in 2025 led Equinox Gold to cut its annual production guidance from 300,000–350,000 oz to 220,000–260,000 oz due to equipment availability issues and lower-than-expected ore grades. Greenstone’s entry into production coincides with a wider resurgence of major mining investment across Canada — most consequentially in Saskatchewan, where Denison Mines has broken ground on the $600 million Phoenix uranium mine at Wheeler River, Canada’s first new uranium mine in roughly two decades and the first in the country to deploy in-situ recovery mining at commercial scale.

Project Team

Developer/Operator: Equinox Gold Corp. (TSX: EQX; NYSE American: EQX) — 60% owner

Co-investor: Orion Mine Finance — 40% owner

Equinox Gold President & CEO: Greg Smith

Equinox Gold VP of Operations, Greenstone: Bryan Wilson

Greenstone General Manager (construction): Eric Lamontagne

Mine fleet: 25 CAT 793 haul trucks; 4 Komatsu PC5500 shovels; 6 Epiroc Pit Viper 235 drills; 2 Epiroc D65 drills; 1 Komatsu WE1850 loader; 6 Komatsu D375A-8 bulldozers + additional units

Technical report issuer: October 2024 NI 43-101 Technical Report (updated)

Jurisdiction: Ontario Ministry of Mines; Greenstone municipality

Published 27th October 2023: The Greenstone Gold open-pit mine, located outside of Geraldton, is nearly completed. Equinox Gold, a Vancouver-based mine developer, stated in its most recent newsletter and investor presentation.

With practically all of the equipment installed, General Manager Eric Lamontagne stated that the plumbing, electrical, and instrumentation teams are testing and checking individual systems. In the run-up to commercial production, “hot” commissioning begins in early 2024.

Also Read: Construction Begins on New Library in Downtown Guelph, Ontario

The corporation has not given an exact date for the first gold pour. It will however take place sometime in the first part of next year. The pit is located four miles south of Geraldton, near the junction of Trans-Canada Highway 11 and Provincial Highway 584. Highway 11 had to be rerouted to avoid the hole. The route is been reopened to traffic.

The deposit has a mine life of 15 years and is predicted to generate more than 5 million ounces of gold over that time. Among the recent important building milestones is the completion of the site’s power plant. Six natural gas-powered piston engines are housed in this building. Thermal energy from these engines will be recovered via a glycol distribution loop, which will provide heat to the processing building and a truck shop.

Pre-production at the Greenstone Gold open-pit mine

Pre-production mining has been heating up, with 12.2 million tonnes of material transported thus far. Approximately 800,000 tonnes are being stockpiled for processing in preparation for the mine’s start-up. Furthermore, the remainder is designated as waste rock and will be utilised in buildings surrounding the site. This mine location is near the former Hardrock, MacLeod-Cockshutt, and Mosher underground mines, which worked from the late 1930s until around 1970 and produced more than two million ounces of gold.

The development includes the site restoration of those old operations.