Mr. Christian Milau reports

EQUINOX GOLD COMMENCES PHASE 1 CONSTRUCTION OF THE CASTLE MOUNTAIN GOLD MINE

Equinox Gold Corp.'s board of directors has approved the start of phase 1 construction at the Castle Mountain gold mine in California. Castle Mountain is an open-pit heap leach mine expected to produce on average 45,000 ounces (oz) of gold annually for the first three years of operations (phase 1) while the company completes the studies and permit amendments required for the phase 2 expansion, which is expected to average 200,000 oz of gold annually for an additional 13 years for total life-of-mine production of 2.8 million oz of gold. All dollar amounts are shown in U.S. dollars

Early works construction has been under way at Castle Mountain since the third quarter of 2019. Activities to date have focused on detailed engineering, procurement, installation of piping and other infrastructure, and heap leach earthworks. The company expects to commence installation of leach pad liners in November, with first gold pour targeted for Q3 2020.

Construction milestones achieved to date:

• Detailed engineering complete;
• Contractors mobilized to site;
• Plant area and heap leach topsoil removal complete;
• Site road upgrades complete;
• First deliveries of pipe and liner material to site.

Christian Milau, Equinox Gold's chief executive officer, commented: "Castle Mountain will be Equinox Gold's third producing gold mine and our second mine in California. Construction of phase 1 of Castle Mountain is the first step in building a project that will ultimately be a long-life 200,000-ounce-per-year gold mine, bringing significant benefits to Equinox Gold's shareholders, local communities and the state of California."

Project highlights

Equinox Gold's board of directors has approved a phase 1 construction budget of $58-million based on firm supplier quotes following detailed engineering, of which approximately $3.5-million has been spent to date. The budget includes working capital and a 12-per-cent contingency. Castle Mountain phase 1 construction is fully financed from Equinox Gold's existing treasury, cash flow based on current gold prices and available financing facilities.

A significant portion of phase 1 infrastructure and more than 50 per cent of phase 1 capital expenditures are considered early build for phase 2. The phased ramp-up approach allows the company to use existing permits to expedite production while completing the feasibility study and permit amendments for the phase 2 expansion.

Phase 1 will consist of a run-of-mine heap leach operation processing primarily 12,700 tonnes per day (t/d) of stockpiled ore from previous operations. Loaded carbon from Castle Mountain will be trucked to Equinox Gold's Mesquite mine, 200 miles south, and processed in the Mesquite ADR (adsorption, desorption and refining) plant, resulting in increased operating efficiencies for both mines.

Phase 2 will increase production to 200,000 oz per year and throughput to 41,000 t/d of ore, of which 2,300 t/d of higher-grade ore will be processed through a milling circuit. Although phase 2 will operate within the existing mine boundary, the increased mining and water extraction rates will require amendments to permits for the project. The phase 2 feasibility study is under way with completion targeted for the second half of 2020, at which point Equinox Gold will submit the application to amend its existing plan of operations and permits to support the phase 2 expansion.

About Equinox Gold Corp.

Equinox Gold is a Canadian mining company with a multimillion-ounce gold reserve base and growth potential from three wholly owned gold mines. The company is producing gold from its Mesquite gold mine in California and its Aurizona gold mine in Brazil, and is constructing its Castle Mountain gold mine in California with the target of achieving production in 2020.

Technical information

James (Jim) Currie, PEng, Equinox Gold's chief operating officer, and Scott Heffernan, MSc, PGeo, Equinox Gold's executive vice-president of exploration, are the qualified persons under National Instrument 43-101 for Equinox Gold and have reviewed, approved and verified the technical content of this document.

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