Equinox hands CEO job to Orla’s Simpson

Equinox Gold (TSX, NYSE-A: EQX) will hand the CEO job to Orla Mining’s Jason Simpson on Nov. 1, reversing a leadership plan set when the companies agreed to merge in May.

The all-share merger valued at about $18.5 billion (C$25.4 billion) with Orla closed Friday, creating a six-mine producer forecast to turn out 1.1 million oz. of gold a year. Its Canadian core assets includes Greenstone near Geraldton, more than 1,100 km by road northwest of Toronto.

“Building Equinox Gold into a senior producer has been the privilege of my career,” Hall said in a Friday release. “This is the right moment for this transition and I leave knowing the company is in very good hands.”

The switch puts Simpson in charge of integrating two fast-growing miners and ranking a slate of mine builds and expansions as Equinox shifts from dealmaking to execution. It breaks with the May plan, which kept Hall as CEO and made Simpson president.

“Overall, we view the CEO succession as providing greater clarity on Equinox’s long-term leadership, addressing one of the most recurring questions in our client conversations,” National Bank Financial mining analyst Mohamed Sidibé said Friday in a note.

Simpson “brings the proven operating leadership and execution discipline required to integrate the portfolio and advance the company’s development pipeline, which we expect will now become the key focus for investors,” he added.

Leadership shift

Hall is to retire Oct. 31 and work with Simpson through the next three months. Simpson became Equinox president and a director when the deal closed.

Hall took the top job in July last year, one month after Equinox absorbed Calibre Mining. He will have led Equinox for 15 months when he retires.

Simpson led Orla for more than seven years. He previously served as chief operating officer at Torex Gold Resources (TSX: TXG), where he oversaw construction and operation of the ELG mine in Mexico’s Guerrero state. He earlier held senior roles at Vale (NYSE: VALE), including general manager of its Voisey’s Bay operation in Labrador.

As planned, the merger has also reshaped the company’s board. Ross Beaty stepped down as chair to become chair emeritus and special adviser, while former Orla chair Chuck Jeannes took the chair.

“I’m not going anywhere and I have zero intention to sell any of my shares for the foreseeable future,” Beaty said on the May merger call.

Growth test

Former Equinox shareholders own about 67% of the enlarged company and former Orla holders own 33%. Equinox plans to delist Orla from the Toronto and New York exchanges.

The portfolio spans Canada, the United States, Mexico and Nicaragua. Greenstone, Valentine and Musselwhite are forecast to produce 685,000 oz. a year on a full-year basis, making Equinox Canada’s second-largest gold producer by company estimates. Only Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM; NYSE: AEM), with 3.3-3.5 million oz., produces more.

Equinox will begin counting production from Musselwhite and Camino Rojo on Aug. 1.

Expanding Valentine, building South Railroad and Castle Mountain, restarting and enlarging Los Filos and developing an underground mine at Camino Rojo could lift annual output above 1.9 million ounces, Equinox says.

The company plans to issue consolidated guidance with its second-quarter results after markets close on Wednesday.

Simpson’s first test will be to set spending priorities across the pipeline while Greenstone and Valentine ramp up.