all financial figures are in US dollars, unless otherwise indicated

Vancouver, BC – Equinox Gold Corp. (TSX: EQX, NYSE American: EQX) (“Equinox Gold” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce its unaudited financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. These results are preliminary and could change based on final audited results. Equinox Gold’s 2021 audited consolidated financial statements and accompanying management’s discussion and analysis for the three months and year ended December 31, 2021 will be released in mid-March.

Christian Milau, CEO of Equinox Gold, commented: “Equinox Gold’s 2021 results demonstrate consistent year-on-year production and cash flow growth as the Company advances toward its target of achieving more than one million ounces of annual gold production. During 2021, our seven operating mines produced 602,110 ounces of gold and generated operating cash flow of $321 million, compared to 2020 production of 477,200 ounces of gold and $256 million in operating cash flow. We realized more than $1 billion in revenue for the year, and produced our millionth ounce of gold, both important milestones for our growing company.

“We achieved significant reserve and resource growth, adding more than three million ounces of gold reserves to our portfolio through the acquisition of Premier Gold and its Greenstone project. We also increased mineral reserves and demonstrated mine life extension at Aurizona and Castle Mountain, and drilled more than 219,000 metres across the portfolio. The next few years will be focused on delivering organic growth from our pipeline of development and expansion projects, which will collectively add more than 600,000 ounces of annual production to the Company at reduced costs.”

2021 HIGHLIGHTS

Operational

Realized 26% production growth compared to 2020
Achieved 2021 guidance with total production of 602,110 ounces (“oz”) of gold
Sold 602,668 ounces of gold at an average realized gold price of $1,791 per oz
Total cash costs of $1,087 per oz and all-in sustaining costs (“AISC”) of $1,350 per oz(1)
Produced the Company’s millionth ounce of gold and realized over $1 billion in revenue
Achieved a total recordable injury frequency rate(2) of 3.05, 17% better than 2020, with 13 lost-time injuries
Achieved a significant environmental incident frequency rate(2) of 0.68, 60% better than 2020
Continued proactive COVID-19 health and safety protocols with no production days lost due to COVID-19; supported community health with donations of supplies and support for education, medical staffing and vaccination programs

Earnings

Earnings from mine operations of $230.6 million
Net income of $556.8 million or $1.95 per share
Includes $85.8 million unrealized gain on change in fair value of warrants, $58.1 million unrealized gain on change in fair value of gold contracts, $186.1 million gain on reclassification of investment in Solaris Resources Inc. (“Solaris”) from fair value to cost accounting, $50.3 million gain on sale of partial interest in Solaris, $45.4 million gain on sale of Pilar Mine and $81.4 million gain on acquisition of Premier Gold
Adjusted net income(1) of $73.8 million or $0.26 per share(1), after adjusting for the non-cash expense items noted above(3)

Financial

Cash flow from operations before changes in non-cash working capital of $264.1 million ($320.8 million after changes in non-cash working capital)
Adjusted EBITDA of $303.1 million(1)(3)
Expenditures of $144.7 million in sustaining capital and $238.7 million in non-sustaining capital(1)
Cash and cash equivalents (unrestricted) of $305.5 million at December 31, 2021
Net debt(1) of $235.2 million at December 31, 2021, including $139.7 million of in-the-money convertible notes

Corporate

Completed acquisition of Premier, increasing diversification and scale with a 50% interest in the low-cost, long-life Greenstone gold project in Canada and a 100% interest in the operating gold-silver Mercedes mine in Mexico
Increased Greenstone ownership interest to 60%
Sold ten million shares of Solaris for total cash proceeds of $66.7 million
Sold the Pilar Mine for $38.0 million, a 1% net smelter return royalty and 11.6 million shares of Pilar Gold Inc.
Invested C$51 million in i-80 Gold Corp. to maintain an approximate 25% interest on a fully diluted basis
Announced agreement to sell the Mercedes Mine for $100 million, a 2% net smelter return and 24.73 million shares of Bear Creek Mining Corporation (“Bear Creek”)(4)

Construction, development and exploration

Commenced Greenstone construction in Q4 2021 with first gold pour targeted for the first half of 2024 (“H1 2024”)
Advanced Santa Luz construction with first gold pour targeted for late Q1 2022
Increased Aurizona Mineral Reserves by 73% and completed a positive pre-feasibility study for an expansion that would extend the mine life to 11 years and increase annual production by concurrently mining new underground and satellite open-pit deposits with the existing open-pit mine
Increased Castle Mountain Mineral Reserves by 17% and completed a positive feasibility study for a Phase 2 expansion that would extend the Castle Mountain mine life to 21 years and increase gold production to more than 200,000 ounces per year
Commenced mining the new Guadalupe open-pit deposit and Bermejal underground deposit at Los Filos
Drilled 219,000 metres across the portfolio with a focus on Mineral Reserve growth and mine life extension
Added 3.3 million ounces of Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves through the Premier Acquisition

Responsible mining

Published inaugural Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report
Published first Tailings Management Report
Started implementing Towards Sustainable Mining Protocols and Responsible Gold Mining Principles at all mine sites
Established a Social Responsibility & Human Rights Policy, conducted human rights assessments at two mine sites
Set and achieved short-term energy and greenhouse gas emission targets for 2021, submitted data to the Carbon Disclosure Project, commenced reporting using the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures framework

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021

Operational

Total recordable injury frequency rate of 2.92 with 3 lost-time injuries
Produced 210,432 ounces of gold during the quarter; sold 212,255 ounces of gold at an average realized gold price of $1,792 per oz
Total cash costs of $1,040 per oz and AISC of $1,266 per oz

Earnings

Earnings from mine operations of $99.4 million
Net income of $110.9 million or $0.37 per share
Includes $27.5 million unrealized gain on change in fair value of share purchase warrants, $9.4 million dilution gain on investment in associate and $8.0 million loss on disposal of plant and equipment
Adjusted net income of $75.6 million or $0.25 per share, after adjusting for the non-cash expense items noted above(5)

Financial

Cash flow from operations before changes in non-cash working capital of $122.2 million ($155.4 million after changes in non-cash working capital)
Adjusted EBITDA of $130.0 million(5)
Expenditures of $42.4 million in sustaining capital and $84.6 million in non-sustaining capital

Construction, development and exploration

Commenced full-scale construction at Greenstone with a construction budget on a 100% basis (of which Equinox Gold will fund 60%) of C$1.53 billion ($1.23 billion at a rate of USD:CAD 1.25), including a $177 million contingency
Initial capital estimate updated in October 2021 to reflect firm supplier quotes following detailed engineering, a review and update of capital costs, and an increased contingency including a provision for future inflation and potential COVID-19 impacts
Initial cash spend could be reduced by approximately $100 million through lease financing for mobile equipment and offset economically by up to $70 million of pre-commercial production revenues (at $1,750 per oz gold price)

POST QUARTER END HIGHLIGHTS

Provided 2022 production and cost guidance of 625,000 to 710,000 ounces of gold at cash costs of $1,080 to $1,140 per oz and AISC of $1,330 to $1,415 per oz
Provided 2022 capital expenditure guidance of $682 million
$195 million of sustaining capital
$487 million of non-sustaining capital, including $27 million to complete Santa Luz construction and $326 million to advance Greenstone construction
$36 million of exploration expenditures, including sustaining ($6 million) and non-sustaining ($30 million) capital expenditure guidance
Commenced commissioning of the Santa Luz gold plant, including leach circuit, SAG mill, ball mill and secondary grinding; construction more than 95% complete and on track for first gold pour by late Q1 2022
Greenstone construction progressing well
Engineering approximately 85% complete
Tailings management facility ahead of schedule
Highway relocation underway
Site civil works and concrete foundation work underway
New Brazil Federal legislation announced February 16, 2022 changed minimum freeboard(6) guidelines for all tailings storage facilities (“TSFs”), effective immediately
As the result of heavy rains that began in November, the RDM TSF freeboard is currently outside of the new guidelines, requiring a temporary suspension of plant operations for an estimated two to three weeks until the water level is reduced, at which point plant operations will resume
Mining and stockpiling of ore will continue during the suspension of plant operations; the Company does not anticipate a material impact on production for the year

Cash costs per oz sold, AISC per oz sold, adjusted net income, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EPS, sustaining capital, non-sustaining capital and net debt are non-IFRS measures. See Non-IFRS Measures and Cautionary Notes.
Total recordable injury frequency rate and significant environmental incident frequency rate are both reported per million hours worked. Total recordable injury frequency rate is the total number of injuries excluding those requiring simple first aid treatment.
Primary adjustments for the year ended December 31, 2021 were $85.8 million unrealized gain on change in fair value of warrants, $58.1 million unrealized gain on change in fair value of gold contracts, $186.1 million gain on reclassification of investment in Solaris from fair value to cost accounting, $50.3 million gain on sale of partial interest in Solaris, $45.4 million gain on sale of Pilar and $81.4 million gain on acquisition of Premier Gold.
The sale is expected to close around the end of Q1 2022, subject to completion of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
Primary adjustments for the three months ended December 31, 2021 were $27.5 million unrealized gain on change in fair value of share purchase warrants, $9.4 million dilution gain on investment in associate and $8.0 million loss on disposal of plant and equipment.
Freeboard is the height from the crest of the TSF embankment to the surface of tailings and water in the TSF.

CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST

Equinox Gold will host a conference call and webcast on Friday, February 25, 2022 commencing at 7:30 am Vancouver time to discuss the Company’s financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 and activities underway at the Company’s projects. All participants will have the opportunity to ask questions of Equinox Gold’s CEO and executive team. The webcast will be archived on Equinox Gold’s website until August 25, 2022.

Conference call
Toll-free in U.S. and Canada: 1-800-319-4610
International callers: +1 604-638-5340

Webcast
www.equinoxgold.com

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