Latest update March 12th, 2026 9:56 PM
Canadian firm says govt. eager to ink mineral agreement for Eagle Mountain gold project
…CEO says: “they really want to sign”
(Kaieteur News) – Canadian mining firm Mako Mining says discussions are underway with the Government of Guyana to finalise a mineral agreement for its Eagle Mountain Gold Project in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).
Speaking during a recent interview on The KE Report, Mako Mining Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Akiba Leisman disclosed that senior company officials are currently in Guyana and engaged with government authorities.
Mako Mining President Steve Parsons
“Steve (Parsons), our president, is down at site right now meeting with the government ministry. They have him in a headlock right now because they really want to sign the mineral agreement. I’m not entirely sure they’re going to let him leave the country without that sign,” Leisman said. Mako considers Guyana an emerging gold mining jurisdiction, citing a mining-friendly permitting environment and growing foreign investment.
The CEO explained that securing the mineral agreement would be a key step in defining the project’s fiscal and social framework. “That’s going to be a good first step in terms of where we are to define the uh the economic parameters of our project and kind of our uh our requirements for community support and things along the way,” Leisman added.
Mako holds a 100 per cent interest in the preliminary economic assessment (PEA)-stage Eagle Mountain Project, located in the Mahdia district, roughly 200 km south-southwest of Georgetown. The company says the site is currently undergoing engineering, environmental, and mine permitting activities, as it prepares for a full-scale development phase.
The company acquired the project through its 2024 takeover of Goldsource Mines Inc., inheriting a resource base of nearly 1.2 million ounces of gold (indicated) and 582,000 ounces (inferred). The 5,050-hectare property includes the 4,784-hectare Eagle Mountain project and the 252-hectare Kilroy medium-scale mining licence, with two known gold deposits, Eagle Mountain and Salbora, along with several additional exploration targets.
Leisman said the company is preparing to submit its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to Guyana’s Environmental Protection Agency early next year. “That dovetails into when we think we’re going to be ready to submit our environmental impact assessment, which is likely going to be towards the end of January, maybe slip to February,” he said.
Mako Mining CEO Akiba Leisman
He noted that, once submitted, the company expects regulatory approval timelines to align with its broader development schedule. Mako has previously indicated that, pending approvals, construction at Eagle Mountain could begin in 2026, with first gold production from Phase One targeted for the second half of 2027. A 2024 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for Eagle Mountain Gold outlines that the project can produce 66,500 ounces of gold annually on average for 15 years, Life of Mine (LOM).
Further, Leisman also highlighted the company’s strong cash position, saying Mako is positioned to fully finance the construction of Eagle Mountain without external borrowing. In addition to Eagle Mountain, Mako operates the high-grade San Albino gold mine in Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua, owns the Moss Mine in Arizona, an open pit gold mine in northwestern Arizona, and now controls the Mt. Hamilton Gold-Silver Project located in Nevada, USA which is the company’s next key development project in the cue. “All four of our assets can be built, commercialized without the need for any external capital, debt or equity from where we stand today,” he said.
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