President Donald Trump said last week that he’s concerned that the shelves of the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox are “bare” and approved of DOGE leader Elon Musk taking a look for himself — even after Trump’s new Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there is an audit every year and that “all the gold is present and accounted for.”
According to the U.S. Mint, the depository currently holds 147.6 million ounces of gold bullion, “a little over half the total gold presently held by the federal government.”
While Musk plans his trip to Fort Knox, Canadian company Equinox Gold (EQX.TO) announced on Sunday that it would acquire all outstanding shares of fellow Canadian gold mining company Calibre Mining.
Reuters reports the all-stock deal valued at US$1.8 billion aims “to benefit from upcoming Canadian output as gold prices reach record highs.”
Equinox Gold and Calibre Mining are combining to create a major Americas-focused gold producer. The new Equinox Gold will become the second-largest gold producer in Canada. Read more in today’s PR.
Join our conf call & webcast on Feb. 24 at 7:30 AM ET. Details on our website. pic.twitter.com/po2O7DjOoD
— Equinox Gold Corp. (@EquinoxGoldCorp) February 24, 2025
Equinox currently has seven operating gold mines in Canada, Mexico, US, and Brazil.
During the first Trump administration, Equinox acquired the Mesquite Mine (2018) and built Castle Mountain Mine (2020) — both in California.
Equinox CEO Greg Smith said in December that the company plans to “achieve more than one million ounces of annual gold production by advancing a pipeline of expansion projects.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned CEOs in January that Trump’s tariffs and threat to make Canada the 51st state “is a real thing” and that the American president wants Canada’s abundance of critical minerals.
As part of the response to Trump’s tariff threat, Global News reports that the British Columbia government “is fast-tracking the approval of a list of major resource projects, including four mines.” The province announced plans to accelerate 18 critical mineral and energy projects worth roughly $20 billion.