Mr. Greg Smith reports

EQUINOX GOLD REPORTS Q4 AND FISCAL 2023 FINANCIAL AND OPERATING RESULTS, PROVIDES 2024 PRODUCTION GUIDANCE OF 660,000 TO 750,000 OUNCES OF GOLD

Equinox Gold Corp. has released its audited consolidated financial and operating results and related management's discussion and analysis for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2023. The company will host a conference call and live webcast to discuss the results at 7:30 a.m. PT (10:30 a.m. ET) on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. Dial-in and log-in details are provided later in this news release.

Greg Smith, president and chief executive officer of Equinox Gold, commented: "Equinox Gold finished 2023 with its strongest quarter of production at the lowest cash costs for the year, bringing full-year production to 564,458 ounces of gold at all-in sustaining costs of $1,622 per ounce. Greenstone was a significant focus during 2023. After 2.5 years, construction was substantially complete at year-end, which is a huge accomplishment for the team. The focus at Greenstone has shifted now to hot commissioning and operations ramp-up with first gold on schedule for the first half of 2024.

"Looking forward, we expect to produce between 660,000 to 750,000 ounces of gold in 2024 with cash costs of $1,340 to $1,445 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs of $1,630 to $1,740 per ounce. We started 2024 with $360-million in total liquidity, which, along with cash flow from our operating mines and marketable investments currently worth about $100-million, leaves us well funded to achieve our 2024 objectives and advance Greenstone to commercial production."

Highlights for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2023 (all financial figures are in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

Operational

• Produced 154,960 ounces of gold;
• Sold 149,861 ounces of gold at an average realized gold price of $1,983 per oz;
• Total cash costs of $1,330 per oz and all-in sustaining costs of $1,657 per oz;
• Three lost-time injuries and a total recordable injury frequency rate of 1.35 for the quarter;
• Significant environmental incident frequency rate of 0.00 for the quarter.

Earnings:

• Income from mine operations of $38.6-million;
• Net income of $3.9-million or one cent per share (basic);
• Adjusted net income of $2.4-million or one cent per share.

Financial:

• Cash flow from operations before changes in non-cash working capital of $168.2-million, which includes $75.6-million in proceeds from gold prepay arrangements ($125.9-million after changes in non-cash working capital);
• Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $95.3-million;
• Sustaining expenditures of $44.5-million and non-sustaining expenditures of $99.2-million;
• Received $75.0-million on closing of the gold purchase and sale arrangement;
• Issued 5.0 million common shares under the at-the-market equity program at an average share price of $5.01 per common share for total gross proceeds of $24.9-million;
• In November and December, entered into gold collar contracts with an average put strike price of $1,980 per ounce and an average call strike price of $2,198 per ounce, for 11,332 ounces per month beginning January, 2024, through to June, 2024;
• In October, repaid $166.0-million of the revolving facility with proceeds from the 2023 convertible notes.

Construction, development and exploration:

• Advanced Greenstone construction with the following achieved:
  • Completed more than 5.9 million hours project to date with one lost-time injury; 12-month rolling average TRIFR of 2.39;
  • Tailings facility permitted and ready for use;
  • Hot commissioning of crushing circuit and ore storage dome complete;
  • Wet commissioning under way in the ball mills, high-pressure grinding rolls, thickener and leach tanks;
  • Approximately one million tonnes of ore stockpiled for start-up;
  • Spent $74-million (Equinox's 60-per-cent share) during the quarter;
  • On track to pour gold in first half 2024.

Recent developments:

• Provided 2024 production and cost guidance of 660,000 to 750,000 ounces of gold at cash costs of $1,340 to $1,445 per oz and AISC of $1,630 to $1,740 per oz;
• Provided 2024 sustaining and non-sustaining expenditure guidance of $424-million:
  • $212-million of sustaining expenditures, of which $196-million is sustaining capital expenditures;
  • $213-million of non-sustaining expenditures, of which $205-million is non-sustaining capital expenditures;
  • Non-sustaining capital expenditures include $95-million to advance Greenstone through to commercial production;
• Since Jan. 1, 2024, the company has issued 5.0 million common shares under the ATM program at an average share price of $4.56 per common share for total gross proceeds of $22.9-million.

Full-year 2023 highlights

Operational:

• Achieved 2023 production guidance, with 564,458 ounces of gold produced;
• Sold 559,481 ounces of gold at an average realized gold price of $1,941 per oz;
• Beat 2023 cash cost guidance, with cash costs of $1,350 per oz;
• Achieved 2023 AISC guidance, with AISC of $1,612 per oz;
• Seven lost-time injuries and one fatality; four sites had no lost-time injuries;
• Achieved a total recordable injury frequency rate of 1.47, a 31-per-cent improvement compared with 2022.

Earnings:

• Income from mine operations of $109.0-million;
• Net income of $28.9-million or nine cents per share;
• Adjusted net income of $21.7-million or seven cents per share.

Financial:

• Cash flow from operations before changes in non-cash working capital of $527.5-million, which includes $225.0-million in proceeds from gold prepay arrangements ($358.5-million after changes in non-cash working capital);
• Adjusted EBITDA of $304.4-million;
• Sustaining expenditures of $129.1-million and non-sustaining expenditures of $404.1-million;
• Cash and cash equivalents (unrestricted) of $192.0-million at Dec. 31, 2023;
• Net debt of $733.0-million at Dec. 31, 2023.

Corporate:

• Strengthened balance sheet:
  • Issued $172.5-million of unsecured senior convertible senior notes with a conversion price of $6.30, and used the net proceeds to repay $166.0-million of the revolving credit facility;
  • Completed $225.0-million in gold prepay and gold purchase and sale arrangements;
  • Sold a portion of the company's shares in i-80 Gold Corp. for initial proceeds of $32.0-million (Canadian);
  • Issued 9.3 million common shares under the ATM program at an average share price of $4.48 per common share for total gross proceeds of $41.8-million;
• Gold collar contracts in place at Dec. 31, 2023, had a weighted-average put strike price of $1,954 per ounce and an average call strike price of $2,166 per ounce, for delivery of an average of 18,687 ounces per month from January to June, 2024, representing approximately 30 per cent of estimated production during that time period.

Construction, development and exploration:

• Advanced Greenstone on schedule with installation activities effectively completed at Dec. 31, 2023, and commissioning under way to pour first gold in first half 2024;
• Advanced permitting and front-end engineering for the Castle Mountain phase 2 expansion;
• Advanced technical studies for the Aurizona underground expansion and received a permit to commence underground portal development in the Piaba deposit; received a permit to develop the Tatajuba open-pit deposit;
• Replaced reserves through 57,969 metres of reserve replacement drilling and strategic mine planning updates;
• Completed 44,260 metres of stepout drilling across the portfolio with a focus on mine life extension, and completed 16,321 metres of regional drilling to delineate new deposits.

Responsible mining:

• Achieved an SEIFR of 0.29, a 54-per-cent improvement compared with 2022;
• Published the company's annual ESG (environment, social and governance) report, updated the tailings management report and submitted greenhouse gas emission data to CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project);
• Published the company's first water stewardship report and its first climate action report, outlining a strategy to achieve a 25-per-cent reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 compared with business-as-usual emissions.

2024 guidance and outlook

For 2024, the company expects to produce 660,000 to 750,000 ounces of gold. The midpoint of 2024 guidance of 705,000 ounces represents an increase of more than 140,000 ounces compared with 2023 gold production. Cash costs for 2024 are estimated at $1,340 to $1,445 per oz, with AISC of $1,630 to $1,740 per oz.

The company may revise guidance during the year to reflect changes to expected results.

Cash costs for 2024 reflect the life cycle stages of the assets in the company's portfolio and also that, while consumables inflation has abated, labour and equipment costs are expected to face continued upward pressure throughout 2024. In addition, compared with many other countries, the Brazilian real and Mexican peso were top-performing currencies compared with the U.S. dollar in 2022 and 2023, and management expects relative stability in the Brazilian real and Mexican peso compared with the U.S. dollar throughout 2024.

Sustaining expenditures in 2024 of $212-million include investing: (i) $60-million in capitalized stripping programs, with the largest investments at Aurizona and Los Filos; (ii) $58-million in equipment costs, of which $17-million relates to Los Filos open-pit and underground fleets and processing equipment, and $22-million relates to the RDM mobile fleet costs; and (iii) $40-million for tailings storage facility lifts and maintenance at all four Brazilian operations and Greenstone.

Sustaining expenditures for 2024 include $13-million for exploration with a focus on reserve replacement across the portfolio. Non-sustaining expenditures include $13-million for stepout and regional exploration, primarily at Aurizona and in the Bahia district.

Production and cash flow are expected to grow each quarter through 2024 due to normal seasonality and Greenstone ramp-up throughout the year.

The company's primary development focus for 2024 continues to be advancing Greenstone to commercial production, with Equinox's 60-per-cent share of capital in 2024 forecast to be $95-million. In addition, the company is advancing engineering and permitting for the Castle Mountain phase 2 expansion, expects to start underground portal development for the Aurizona underground expansion in the second half of the year and is advancing dialogue with local communities at Los Filos to agree on a long-term development plan for the mine.

Cost and production guidance for Los Filos is subject to the successful execution of new social and land access agreements with local community stakeholders and landowners and collective agreements with unions. These new agreements are necessary to help ensure the long-term economic and investment viability of the mine, including the addition of a new 10,000-tonne-per-day carbon-in-leach processing plant to increase recoveries from higher-grade ore. If the company is unable to satisfactorily complete these agreements, the company will re-evaluate the current operation and may elect to suspend operations indefinitely or until such time as new agreements are in place. Accordingly, Los Filos production and cost guidance for 2024 is subject to change.

Additional information regarding the company's financial results and the company's business strategy is available in the company's 2023 audited consolidated financial statements and accompanying news release for the three months and year ended Dec. 31, 2023, which will be available for download on the company's website, on SEDAR+ and on EDGAR.

Conference call and webcast

Equinox will host a conference call and webcast on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, commencing at 7:30 a.m. Vancouver time, to discuss the company's fourth quarter results and activities under way at the company. All participants will have the opportunity to ask questions of Equinox's chief executive officer and executive team. The webcast will be archived on Equinox's website until Aug. 22, 2024.

Conference call

Toll-free in United States and Canada:  1-800-319-4610

International callers:  1-604-638-5340

Webcast:  at the Equinox website

About Equinox Gold Corp.

Equinox is a growth-focused Canadian mining company with seven operating gold mines, commissioning under way at a new project and a clear plan to achieve more than one million ounces of annual gold production from a pipeline of expansion projects. Equinox's common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE American under the trading symbol EQX.

Technical information

Doug Reddy, MSc, PGeo, chief operating officer, and Scott Heffernan, MSc, PGeo, executive vice-president, exploration, are the qualified persons under National Instrument 43-101 for Equinox, and have reviewed and approved the technical content of this document.

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