Equinox Gold Corp. (AMEX:EQX) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Kerry Smith: Okay. Okay. And then just one last question for Doug on Santa Luz is, I know when you started the resin project, you were kind of thinking recoveries in the [ louis ] despite a 70% maybe the best that we can ever hope to expect for this project? Or how are you thinking about it now?

Doug Reddy: We have — I mean, obviously, the team at site is very, very optimistic on the additional modifications that they’re doing. We have to do it in a stepwise fashion, so we can understand what works and what doesn’t. I’d say desliming is the big one that should have a step change for us on recovery, and we’re doing the engineering at the moment, and we look to be able to implement that in 2024. We’re looking at around the mid-70s, around 75% as being a realistic target that we should be able to push up to, but it’s incremental. And what I will say is 84%, the original target is not doable. We will acknowledge that scaling up from bench scale to pilot plant to industrial scale just did not follow through on the overall recovery, but we can see getting to the mid-70s.

And blending has been a big item for us. And obviously, the opportunity to be able to bring in and blend down the TOC is another thing we’re looking at long term, but it takes quite a while to be able to develop other areas that we might be able to blend with the ore to be able to bring down the total organic, the TOC levels in the past.

Peter Hardie: Yes. And Kerry, we’ll have — we expect to have more on the addition of that desliming circuit, how that will — when we can expect that stepwise change in recovery, thanks to that circuit as part of our year-end call next time we chat on results and which will probably involve guidance as well.

Kerry Smith: Okay. And is it the desliming that you think could get you to the mid-30s recovery range? Or is it so that — and then there are some other step change opportunities that you would have to look at, but they have to be done and seek what you’re suggesting?

Doug Reddy: Exactly. Yes. So I mean basically desliming would bring us up to rather around 73% and then continued work on a couple of other areas would give us another couple of percent. So hence why I’m saying around 75%? Site is going to stay focused on 73% for now. But I think long-term, we’re going to continue working on it. So it’s a long-term target.

Kerry Smith: Okay. Okay. Yes. Thanks very much guys.

Rhylin Bailie: Quick question from online. What are you thinking for timing of the Castle Mountain permit?

Greg Smith: Yes, that’s a tough one. We’ve submitted the permit in March 2022. And we did have a fairly rapid engagement from the state and the county. The BLM, the federal authorities have been a little slower. If you’d asked me sort of a year ago, I would have said we should have that permit sometime near the end of 2024. I think it’s more likely at this stage, just given the progress sort of later 2025, give or take, so it’s a hard question to answer specifically. The permitting or the process is going well. There’s no drama. There’s no significant issues, but it has been slower than we anticipated.

Rhylin Bailie: And I guess with Q4, halfway through, people are already starting to think about next year. So I’ve got about 5 questions about sustaining capital spend next year and cost next year in Greenstone cost, you did want to remind people about when guidance…

Greg Smith: Yes. We’ll be issuing our 2024 guidance in connection with our year-end results, which will be sometime in February, maybe late February.

Peter Hardie: Which is typically when we do release our guidance in the second half of February.

Rhylin Bailie: Okay. We’ll take questions from the phone, please.

Operator: The next question comes from John Sclodnick with Desjardins. Please go ahead.