New Australian firm secures 44,000 acres gold land in Reg. 7

Aug 13, 2026 News

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…land five times size of Georgetown and six times size of Leguan

(Kaieteur News) – As more than 10 Canadian firms advance gold projects across mining districts in Guyana, a second Australian company has secured a major foothold in the Oko gold district, where more than nine-million-ounces of gold have been established.

Australian-listed Liberty Metals Ltd has entered into a binding four-year option agreement with a private Guyanese vendor (name not disclosed) to acquire 90% interest in the Oko North and Oko South Gold Projects, a package of 40 granted medium-scale mining permits covering approximately 44,288 acres, or 180 square kilometres, in the Cuyuni Mining District of Region Seven.

Liberty’s land package is spread across two consolidated blocks located about 60 kilometres apart and sits within the Oko gold district – which the company describes as one of the world’s premier emerging gold camps.  Notably, the 180-square-kilometre area is roughly five times the size of Georgetown and is approximately six times the size of Leguan.

Liberty outlined that its newly acquired gold lands are strategically positioned to the north and south of the Oko deposits and comes shortly after G Mining Ventures (GMIN) completed its approximately US$2.2 billion acquisition of fellow Canadian firm G2 Goldfields, consolidating the Oko West and Oko-Ghanie gold projects into a 7-million gold project.

Liberty further disclosed that the Oko North directly abuts ground formerly held by G2 Goldfields and is located near the New Oko discovery, while Oko South is approximately 30 kilometres south of the Oko deposits. It also stated that Oko South ground covers the southern structural continuation of the mineralised trend that hosts the Oko gold system.

Liberty said its newly acquired mining lands remain largely unexplored using modern exploration techniques. The company said there has been limited historical systematic exploration across the permits, although small-scale alluvial gold mining has been conducted by the vendor and local operators. Liberty considers the presence of alluvial gold mining to be an indication of a potentially fertile gold system, but no hard-rock resource or reserve has yet been established on the Oko North and Oko South properties.

Moreover, under the agreement with the private Guyanese vendor, Liberty will have four years to exercise its option to acquire the 90% interest. The total consideration is at approximately US$8 million, excluding a separate milestone payment.  It was explained that the milestone payment would become payable on completion of a bankable feasibility study for the project.

Further, under the agreement, the Guyanese vendor will retain the right to conduct surface alluvial mining operations within the project area for six years from the signing of the agreement. Liberty said that those operations must be conducted at the vendor’s own risk, cost and regulatory responsibility and are restricted to alluvial surface material.

It was also made clear that the vendor will not be permitted to conduct hard-rock mining or processing under those retained rights. Further, the operations also cannot interfere with Liberty’s exploration activities and must maintain a 50-metre separation from Liberty’s drilling operations and areas covered by a resource estimate.

‘Rare’ opportunity

Liberty Metals Director and Non-Executive Chair Nicholas Katris described the acquisition as a district-scale opportunity in what he considers one of the world’s most exciting gold camps.

“The acquisition of the Oko North and Oko South Projects delivers Liberty a district-scale footprint in what has quickly become one of the most exciting gold camps in the world,” Katris said.

He noted that the Oko district has grown from a greenfield exploration area to a district with more than nine million ounces of gold, a completed feasibility study and a US$2.2 billion consolidation in less than five years. “That is a level of value creation very few districts anywhere have matched,” he said.

Katris also pointed to the structure of Guyana’s mining tenure system, where permits are granted in relatively small blocks, as a factor that makes the consolidation of 40 permits significant. “What makes this opportunity so rare is the ground itself. Guyanese permits are granted in small blocks held by private citizens, so assembling 40 permits across roughly 180 square kilometres in two consolidated blocks, positioned to the north and south of the Oko deposits, is something that simply cannot be readily replicated,” he said.

He noted that Liberty intends to initially focus on compiling historical data, geological mapping and geochemical work before advancing to drilling.

Katris said, “Our approach will be disciplined and methodical. The immediate focus is compiling the historical data, mapping the structural architecture and running our maiden geochemical programmes to generate drill targets.”

Notably, Liberty also said that it could terminate the agreement on 30 days’ notice if it determines that further payments are no longer economically justified. In such circumstances, the permits would revert to the vendor.

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• Leguan, mining contract, Oko gold district

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