Gold Producer Sells CA$130 Million Stake, Exits Key Reporting Threshold

Equinox Gold Corp. (EQX:TSX; EQX:NYSE.A) announced that it has sold an aggregate of 8,713,000 common shares of Versamet Royalties Corporation (VMET) through a block trade agreement with National Bank Financial Inc. for aggregate gross proceeds of CA$130 million.

Immediately before the transaction, Equinox Gold had beneficial ownership of, and control and direction over, 11,617,915 Versamet shares, representing approximately 10.7% of the outstanding shares on an undiluted basis. Following the sale, the company holds 2,904,915 Versamet shares, representing approximately 2.7% of the outstanding shares on an undiluted basis.

The company stated that it holds the remaining Versamet shares for investment purposes and may, from time to time, acquire additional securities, dispose of some or all of its remaining or additional securities, subject to certain escrow restrictions, or continue to hold the shares as future circumstances may dictate.

Following the disposition, Versamet's right of first offer to acquire any royalty or stream held by Equinox Gold will terminate. In addition, the investor rights agreement between Equinox Gold and Versamet will automatically terminate on the date Equinox Gold's beneficial ownership in Versamet remains below 10.0% for a continuous period of at least 30 days.

Versamet's head office is located at Suite 3200, 733 Seymour Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6B 0S6.

Equinox Gold said the news release was issued pursuant to National Instrument 62-103, the Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues. The company said it will file an early warning report under Versamet's profile on SEDAR+ containing additional information regarding the transaction. As Equinox Gold now beneficially owns less than 10.0% of Versamet's outstanding common shares, it is no longer subject to ongoing early warning or insider reporting requirements related to its ownership of Versamet securities.

Gold Prices Hold Above Year-Ago Levels Amid Inflation and Rate Watch

Gold prices remained well above year-ago levels despite recent price fluctuations. According to GoldPrice.org on the morning of July 9, spot gold traded at US$4,106.39 per ounce, up US$33.82, or 0.83%, on the day. The data showed gold had gained 22.77% over the previous year and 125.45% over the past five years. Short-term performance reflected a decline of 0.92% over the previous 30 days and 11.57% over the past six months.

Bloomberg reported on July 7 that gold traded within a narrow range as investors looked for additional indications about the Federal Reserve's interest rate outlook. The publication wrote that "gold traded in a narrow range as investors sought clues on the Federal Reserve's outlook for interest rates," while renewed U.S. airstrikes in Iran "stok[ed] concerns around a return to higher energy prices and inflation." Bloomberg added that bullion remained above US$4,100 per ounce after falling 1.4% in the previous trading session as crude oil prices moved higher.

Reuters also reported on July 7 that gold prices edged lower as traders weighed geopolitical developments alongside expectations for future Federal Reserve policy. Spot gold was quoted at US$4,144.36 per ounce, down 0.5%, while August U.S. gold futures settled 0.3% lower at US$4,157.40 per ounce.

Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals, told Reuters, "I think the reality is setting in that the Fed is still very much focused on reigning in inflation, so higher for longer still seems the most likely Fed path." Reuters also reported that China's central bank extended its gold-buying streak to a 20th consecutive month, with reserves rising to 75.44 million fine troy ounces at the end of June from 74.96 million a month earlier.

Third Parties Pointed to Gold Market Positioning While Maintaining Positive Views on Equinox Gold

In a June 26 research note, Jamie Spratt and Emma Boggio of Haywood Securities reiterated a Buy rating on Equinox Gold with a CA$32.50 per share target price following the company's announcement of new 20-year land access agreements at Los Filos. The analysts wrote, "We recommend investors accumulate shares at current levels," and reiterated their "Buy rating and CA$32.50/share Target." They said the agreements "provide the foundation for the Company to begin a gradual restart of heap leach operations" and described them as "an important step in stabilizing long-term operations at the asset." Spratt and Boggio added that they had "not yet incorporated any production estimates from Los Filos into our valuation and will wait for further clarity from management on restart timing and development plans before updating our assumptions."

In a July 6 report, Ron Struthers of Struthers Resource Stock Report maintained a "Hold, Buy" opinion on Equinox Gold. Struthers discussed the company's announced merger with Orla Mining, writing that it "will create a new North American senior gold producer with approximately 1.1 million ounces of expected annual gold production and a CA$18.5 billion implied market capitalization." He also wrote that the combined company "will have 23 million ounces of proven and probable mineral reserves" and "will be the second-largest producer of Canadian gold." Struthers noted that TD analyst Wayne Lam reduced his target price by CA$2 to CA$24 and quoted Lam as saying, "We view the EQX/OLA combination constructively in creating a company with greater scale while preserving operational focus in U.S./Canada. In our view, investors have shown an increasing willingness to pay a premium for companies with assets in Tier I jurisdictions." Struthers concluded, "I want to get back into these more senior producers as they report stellar results around month end," and reiterated that he was "suggesting to buy three more back today."

In a July 7 report, Chen Lin discussed the gold market and said, "There were talks on CNBC yesterday that gold is finding a bottom here. I don't disagree." He wrote that gold was "in the key consolidation area and could break out either direction," adding, "Quite a few times in history I saw gold dip first, took out the stop orders, and then broke out to the upside." Lin also stated, "I think it is safer to buy the miners as most are priced in well below 4000. My favorite gold miners are BTG and EQX, as well as MUX for the free copper play."

Merger Timeline and Other Announced Developments

Separately, Equinox Gold and Orla Mining Ltd. (OLA:TSX;  ORRLF:OTCMKTS) outlined the expected timeline for their previously announced at-market merger. Under the transaction terms, Orla shareholders are to receive one Equinox Gold share and US$0.0001 in cash for each Orla share held. The companies said the combined ownership is expected to be approximately 67% Equinox Gold shareholders and 33% Orla shareholders on a fully diluted in-the-money basis.

The companies said special shareholder meetings to approve the transaction are expected to occur in July 2026, with the transaction expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to shareholder, court, exchange, and regulatory approvals. The indicative timeline also includes the mailing of special meeting materials, shareholder votes, and regulatory approvals before the anticipated closing.

The presentation also outlined development activities across several projects. At the Valentine project in Newfoundland, Phase 2 construction is anticipated to begin in the third quarter of 2026 to double throughput to approximately 5.0 million tonnes per annum, with Phase 2 ramp-up targeted for the second half of 2028. At the South Railroad project in Nevada, a Federal Record of Decision through the FAST-41 program is expected in mid-2026, with construction targeted for the second half of 2027. At Castle Mountain in California, a FAST-41 Federal Record of Decision is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, while a technical report update is underway with construction targeted for the second half of 2027. 

At Los Filos in Mexico, the companies said restart activities have been initiated, and 20-year agreements are in place with host communities, while technical and economic parameters are being updated to assess expansion opportunities. At Camino Rojo Underground in Mexico, permits for the underground decline were received in March 2026, a preliminary feasibility study is targeted for 2027, and development of the exploration decline is scheduled to commence in the second half of 2026.

Ownership and Share Structure¹

About 4.15% of the company is owned by insiders and management, about 0.39% by strategic entities, and about 67.41% by institutions. The rest is retail.

Its market cap is US$7.449 billion with 789.16 million shares outstanding. It trades in a 52-week range of US$7.87 and US$25.87.