Equinox’s Castle Mountain gets rare Southwest FAST-41 boost

Equinox Gold’s Castle Mountain stage two expansion in California has joined the US FAST-41 program, setting a solid federal permitting timeline that could reduce the development time by years.

Its FAST-41 status now puts the project on track to complete federal approvals in 16 months, clearing the way for a construction decision by the end of next year.

Castle Mountain is a high-quality growth opportunity for Equinox Gold in a tier-one jurisdiction. With FAST-41 status in place, we’ve commenced study updates and optimization work to align with the schedule and fast-track our construction decision.”

FAST-41, managed by the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council aims to speed up environmental reviews, boost coordination between agencies and enhance public transparency. Timelines can take five to eight years, or even longer, due to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and state reviews.