Latest update January 28th, 2025 12:59 AM
Latest News
- ‘With hands on oil money, Govt. ditches promise to set up Petroleum Commission’ -Shurwayne Holder
- Oil minister lashes PNC for failing to commit to renegotiation of Exxon deal while Gov’t refuses to do same
- Drug trade putting tremendous strain on security forces – Min. Benn
- New Cotton Field Secondary School to cost $1.7B
- Shadow foreign minister calls out CARICOM over silence in face of recent aggression by Venezuela
Omai gold finds increase to 2M ounces
Wenot gold deposit in Guyana (Omai Gold Mines photo)
Kaieteur News – Canadian mining company, Omai Gold Mines has unveiled an enhanced mineral resource estimate for its gold project located in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) Guyana.
Omai holds a 100% interest in the gold project, which encompasses two gold deposits: the shear-hosted Wenot Deposit and the adjacent intrusive-hosted Gilt Creek Deposit. The latest assessment incorporates expansions to the Wenot and incorporates the previously disclosed Gilt Creek deposit, solidifying the project’s potential for substantial gold production.
The combined Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) from the Wenot and Gilt Creek deposits now stands at 2.0 million ounces of gold grading at 2.15 g/t gold in the indicated category and 2.3 million ounces of gold grading at 2.26 g/t in the inferred category. This represents a notable increase compared to the previous resource estimate conducted in October 2022, with indicated ounces seeing a 4% uptick and inferred ounces experiencing a substantial 28% surge.
Of particular significance is the expansion of the Wenot deposit, with indicated resources rising by 10% to 834,000 ounces and inferred resources skyrocketing by 45% to 1.6 million ounces, attributed to heightened gold grades in both categories. Notably, approximately 39% of the Wenot resource now lies west of the historical pit, presenting an area ripe for initial mining operations, according to Omai Gold Mines.
Situated 500 meters north of the Wenot deposit and beneath the past-producing Fennel pit, the Gilt Creek deposit boasts 1.2 million ounces of gold in the indicated category and 665,000 ounces of gold inferred. Elaine Ellingham, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Omai Gold Mines, expressed satisfaction with the substantial increase in the mineral resource estimate, highlighting the noteworthy rise in gold grades.
Ellingham highlighted that the project’s contained ounces now surpass the total gold production from the former mine, achieved at comparable grades. “The Omai Gold Mine produced approximately 3.8 million ounces at an average grade of 1.5 g/t Au between 1993 and 2005, when the gold price was less than US$400/oz.,” the CEO noted, adding, “We believe that with the current Mineral Resource Estimate combined with the many benefits of a brownfields project, that Omai is proving the potential to rival its historical status.”
During its operational peak, Omai was renowned as the largest primary gold producer in South America, boasting an average annual output of over 300,000 ounces of gold.
The 2024 mineral resource estimate will serve as the foundation for the project’s Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), currently underway and slated for release in the first quarter. It was stated too that baseline studies have been completed, paving the way for subsequent environmental permit applications and mining license acquisitions upon PEA completion.
In 2020, Omai re-entered Guyana’s mining industry. The company had said that their work completed thus far, has put them on track to become the next large-scale gold mine to open in Guyana. Notably, by 2026, Omai and three other Canadian mining companies are expected to start gold production in their respective mining projects in Guyana. This was revealed by Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh during his 2024 budget estimates presentation.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
‘Govt. must come clean on gas-to-energy project’
– spending US$2B on a project without financial, environmental studies is criminality at its worst – WPA Kaieteur... more
OAS Secretary General Election and renewed OAS Consensus
Antiguan Barbudan Ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- The upcoming election... more
Weekend Cartoon
