Equinox Gold Indefinitely Suspends Operations at Los Filos Mine

Equinox Gold indefinitely suspended operations at its Los Filos Mine in Guerrero, following the expiration of its land access agreement with the community of Carrizalillo. As a result, the company did not include the Los Filos input in its production guidance for 2025.

Equinox Gold stressed that long-term agreements with all three local communities are essential for continued operations at the Los Filos mine. This includes the proposed construction of a new 10,000t/d carbon-in-leach processing plant to increase gold recoveries from higher-grade ore.

Equinox Gold reports that it has been engaged in discussions with the three communities that host the mine since November 2023. Agreements were reached in January 2025, and new long-term agreements were subsequently ratified and signed with the Mezcala and Xochipala communities. Carrizalillo has not signed a new long-term agreement with the company.

Equinox Gold did not include any production from the Los Filos Mine in its 2025 production guidance. “We expect to produce between 635,000oz to 750,000oz gold in 2025 with cash costs of US$1,075/oz to US$1,175/oz and all-in sustaining costs of US$1,455/oz to US$1,550/oz. This guidance does not include any production from our Los Filos mine in Mexico. Continuing operations at Los Filos in 2025 is subject to the successful completion of new long-term agreements with all three communities in the very near term,” said the company in a press release.

On Feb. 19, 2025, Carrizalillo inhabitants blocked the mine’s entrance due to disagreements with the company and lifted the blockade on the morning of Feb. 20, 2025. Local authorities called for respectful and constructive dialogue, as they consider mining a strategic sector that creates jobs in the region. 

Los Filos’ Importance 

According to the CAMIMEX Annual Report 2024, the Los Filos mine is the fourth-largest gold mine in Mexico and the second-largest in Guerrero. In 2023, it produced 159,100oz of gold. The mine's production was only surpassed by Alamos Gold’s Mulatos District, Fresnillo’s La Herradura Mine, and Torex Gold’s El Limon-Guajes, the latter of which is also the largest mine in Guerrero.