Equinox Gold (TSX: EQX) has cleared the last major federal hurdle standing between its South Railroad project and a shovel in the ground.
The company said Monday it received a positive Record of Decision from the US Bureau of Land Management for the Nevada gold project, completing federal permitting under the National Environmental Policy Act. South Railroad was a FAST-41 covered project, a designation that put the review on a coordinated federal timeline. State permit and water rights applications have been submitted.
Construction is already moving. Early works began on the north access road ahead of the decision, and earthworks and major civil construction activities commenced once the ROD landed. Detailed engineering is 55.2% complete, and major contracts for power generation, process plant equipment, concrete and structural steel have been awarded.
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Hiring and onboarding of the site operations team will continue through the second half of the year. Mining equipment starts arriving at year end, with initial mining activities scheduled for spring 2027 and first gold targeted for 2028.
“Receiving the Record of Decision is a major milestone for the South Railroad project and advances our next phase of growth,” said Jason Simpson, president of Equinox Gold, who takes over as chief executive officer when Darren Hall retires at the end of October.
South Railroad is an open-pit heap leach operation on a 25,000-hectare land package along the Carlin Trend, one of the more productive gold districts in the world. Initial capital is pegged at $395 million, and the mine is designed to average 130,000 ounces of gold a year over its first five years and roughly 104,000 ounces annually across an initial 10-year life at all-in sustaining costs of $1,505 an ounce.
The project came to Equinox through its merger with Orla Mining, which closed July 31 and lifted consolidated 2026 production guidance to 870,000 to 920,000 ounces. Between $70 million and $80 million of this year’s growth capital is earmarked for South Railroad, one piece of a development pipeline the company says can add 800,000 ounces of annual production.
Equinox Gold last traded at $16.10 on the TSX.
