Equinox Gold held an official ceremony to mark the start of construction of its Greenstone Gold Mine on October 27.

The project, which is located approximately 275 kilometers northeast of Thunder Bay, at the intersection of Provincial Highway 584 and Trans-Canada Highway 11, will produce more than 400,000 ounces of gold annually for its first five years, and more than give million ounces over its initial 14-year life. Those figures make it one of the largest gold mines in the country.

The ground-breaking ceremony saw participation from Equinox Gold officials as well as remarks from various public officials including Premier Doug Ford, Minister of Northern Developed Greg Rickford, as well as from several First Nations bands leaders. It also included a blessing by Knowledge Keeper Andrea O'Nabigon of Long Lake #58 First Nation.

"Equinox Gold and the Greenstone Mine team have shown terrific leadership in working with Indigenous communities and with our government to get to this point—starting construction for a major project that will create jobs and bring prosperity to the region, and to every corner of our province,” said Ford.

The initial capital-construction budget for the project is approximately $1.53 billion. That figure includes more than $50 million spent to date and a contingency of $177 million. To date, Equinox has awarded 30 percent of its major contracts, worth a total of $230 million. More than 40 percent of that total has been awarded to Indigenous businesses or partnerships.

Early works have been underway since March 2021, with the project calling for two years of construction and a further six months of commissioning. Mining is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The project scope includes $51 million to relocate existing infrastructure including a Hydro One electrical substation and distribution lines, an Ontario Provincial Police station and a portion of Highway 11.

A further $62 million has been allocated for the construction of a power plant with a designed capacity of 46.5 MW that will connect by pipeline to the TC Energy Canadian Mainline natural gas pipeline.

New infrastructure worth $70 million includes site access and haul roads, workforce living and kitchen facilities, potable water and sewage systems, a workshop and maintenance facility, warehousing and administration buildings, explosives and reagent storage, fuel storage and distribution, a recycling and sorting facility, fire water systems and site security.

Additionally, $80 million has bene set aside to build a downstream-design 145 million-tonnes-capacity tailings management facility, and $217 million has been allocated to construction indirects, which include fees for engineering, procurement and construction management, construction services, contractor mobilization and demobilization, temporary camp and site facilities, and freight and logistics.

The project is fully permitted to start major construction activities and has long-term relationship agreements in place with five Indigenous groups: Animbiigoo Zaagi'igan Anishinaabek, Aroland First Nation, Ginoogaming First Nation, Long Lake #58 First Nation and the Métis Nation of Ontario.

"Greenstone Mine is located in one of the world's best mining jurisdictions and will be a top-tier mine, producing more than 400,000 ounces of gold per year at all-in-sustaining costs in the lowest quartile of the industry,” said Equinox Gold CEO Christian Milau. “Greenstone Mine will be a cornerstone asset for Equinox Gold and a transformative project for Northern Ontario. We look forward to working with our partners to build a gold mine that can be considered an industry example for responsible mineral development."