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Omai aims to return to annual gold output of 300,000 ounces
…says even if gold prices fall, producers will still be happy
Kaieteur News – President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Omai Gold Mines Corp., Elaine Ellingham, says the company is aiming to return to an annual gold output of 300,000 ounces as it charts a path toward production at its brownfield project in Guyana.
President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Omai Gold Mines Corp., Elaine Ellingham
Omai, a Canadian gold company, holds a 100% interest in the past-producing Omai gold project in Guyana, located in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni). The project encompasses two orogenic gold deposits: the shear-hosted Wenot Deposit and the adjacent intrusive-hosted Gilt Creek Deposit. A 2024 Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the gold project outlined 2.0 million ounces of gold indicated and 2.3 million ounces inferred.
Speaking in a recent interview with Crux Investor, Ellingham said that while the company is focused on optimising development plans, the cost of building a processing plant will be a major determinant in the scale of operations.
“I think the key thing is you have to build a mill there, right you have to build a process plant and the, I think the big question is how big is that plant, because a big percentage of the cost of a big large scale mine is the processing plant, so I think that’s going to drive the overall cost,” she said.
Despite these considerations, the CEO noted the site’s historic production figure remains the benchmark. “Just remember [Omai] produced 300,000 ounces a year average before and I think that’s a good aspirational goal to hit again,” she stated.
Once a prolific gold producer from 1993 to 2005, the mine yielded 3.8 million ounces of gold, producing an average of more than 300,000 ounces of gold per year during a period when gold traded below US$400 per ounce. Since its return to “mining-friendly” Guyana, Omai has revitalised the property, which benefits from much existing infrastructure. Of the two gold deposits located on the property, Omai has been more focused on the Wenot “superpit”.
Notably, gold prices are currently high, fetching a price of $3,100 per ounce. Ellingham added, “You’re well aware the inflation has not really kept up with the gold price, like sometimes in the past when the gold price came up the cost came up proportionally, not so much yet…and I mean the gold price now it’s far beyond what most of us, we’re happy. If it comes down quite substantially, we’ll still be happy as producers.”
Ellingham said the company is advancing well with environmental and permitting requirements. She shared that an environmental permit had already been secured and that Omai is working closely with Guyana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“We actually received an environmental permit, it’s an interim one for two years but I think it was a great milestone especially compared with some of the other projects in country…We just recently engaged ERM, which is a large international firm specializing in environmental studies…and we’re working with the EPA in Guyana, the Environmental Protection Agency, and they’re very knowledgeable on Omai for sure,” she said.
Ellingham also highlighted the benefits of Omai being a brownfield project. She said that since the site was already cleared and does not fall within a regenerated natural environment, the permitting hurdles are relatively lower. “There’s no endangered species there and it’s not a natural environment which they recognize… Even in Guyana the permitting process is fairly quick but I would expect us to be on the leading edge of that timeline,” she said.
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- Chief Executive Officer, Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Elaine Ellingham, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Omai Gold Mines Corp., the benchmark
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