Latest update April 4th, 2025 12:14 AM
Omai large gold find will boost economy – Pres. Ali
Wenot gold deposit in Guyana (Omai Gold Mines photo)
Kaieteur News – Before Canadian mining company, Omai Gold Mines announced its updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 2 million ounces of gold – the company met with President Irfaan Ali and disclosed that they are on track to return to their ‘glory days’.
During the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Annual Dinner, the head-of-state told the attendees, “There are some tremendous opportunities coming in mining. Today (February 5) I had a meeting with OMAI for example, they are coming back on stream in the type of numbers that you will hear announce soon.”
President Irfaan Ali
President Ali stated that according to what the company related to him, Omai’s new operation would be similar to their previous one in Guyana which started in the 1990’s. The mining company had wrapped up its operations here after 24 years. In its prime, Omai produced over 3.7 million ounces of gold.
In 2020, Omai returned to Guyana and has been exploring their old gold mines located in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni). By 2026, Omai and three other Canadian mining companies are expected to start gold production in their respective mining projects in Guyana. 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.
“It’s an 18 year mine so the type of logistics for transport, logistics and the spin off for the rest of the economy would be enormous,” President Ali told the private sector members.
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 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.
This publication had reported that, 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.”
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.
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