Omai begins drilling for gold in Reg 7 Gilt Creek deposit

…Govt to collect taxes, royalties

Canadian company Omai Goldmines has announced the start of drilling at its Gilt Creek gold deposit in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), with the company hoping to expand the economic potential of its holdings beyond the Wenot deposit.
For years, the Wenot deposit has taken center stage of Omai Goldmines’ efforts towards mining for gold in Guyana. The company is however looking beyond Wenot, announcing that it has begun drilling for gold in its Gilt creek deposit, 500 meters north of Wenot.

Omai is no stranger to Guyana, with the Omai pit previously in operation between 1992 and 2006. During this time, the upper portion of the Gilt Creek gold deposit was mined, producing 2.4 million ounces.
“The upper portion of this Gilt Creek gold deposit was mined between 1993 and 2005 when it produced 2.4 million ounces at an average grade of 1.5 g/t Au. Continuation of this deposit at depth was confirmed in drilling by Iamgold in 2006 and 2007 with 46 drill holes totalling approximately 27,000m.”
“This drilling showed gold mineralization down to a depth of 967m below surface, although only sparse drilling was completed to that depth… it is likely that the gold mineralization within this “Omai stock” continues to greater depths,” Omai explained in their statement announcing the start-up of drilling.
Meanwhile, their statement also included Omai Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elaine Ellingham explaining that they hope to both expand Wenot and accelerate work on Gilt Creek at the same time.
“We are very pleased with the baseline Preliminary Economic Assessment for Wenot, completed in April of this year. However, we see Omai as having potential to be a much larger operation. A mine plan incorporating the Gilt Creek underground deposit with an expanded Wenot open pit is the path to a longer life mine with higher annual production and enhanced economics.”
“To this end, we remain on track with our ongoing drilling to expand the large 2.5km long Wenot deposit, and are excited to accelerate work on the Gilt Creek deposit in parallel. The deposits are only 500 metres apart and will benefit from common infrastructure. We are confident that our 2024 drilling at Wenot and work at Gilt Creek will unlock significant value for our shareholders in the near-term,” Ellingham said.
It was meanwhile explained that the Company expects to complete one of the two planned drill holes into the Gilt Creek deposit by 2024-year end. Further, the company stated that Gilt Creek could have over 1.1 million indicated ounces of gold.
“Two initial holes are planned to potentially expand the current Gilt Creek Mineral Resource Estimate, while advancing engineering and metallurgical studies that will facilitate inclusion of this underground deposit into a next phase economic study for the Omai property, anticipated in mid-2025,” the company said.
In February 2024, Omai had announced an updated combined Mineral Resource Estimate of 2 million ounces of gold. While he had noted that there was no timeframe set out for the Canada-based company to start production, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo had previously explained that Government will begin collecting royalties and taxes only after production start-up.
“Some people actually sit on companies forever, and they raise funds to prove reserves and they keep announcing how many ounces of gold are in reserve there without getting into the real production, and it is only in the production stage that the Government gets its share of royalty and taxes, because the large-scale mines got to pay both the royalty and taxes,” he had explained in July.

With respect to gold production, Mining Act of Guyana provides that a royalty rate for gold is 8%. However, the rate can be as low as 5% for claim licenses and mining permits for medium-scale operations. If the price of gold is above US$1,000 per ounce, mineral agreements may require a royalty of 8%.
In its heyday, Omai produced approximately 3.7 million ounces of gold during its previous time in operation, making it the largest gold mine in South America at the time. The project closed in 2006 due to financial constraints and low gold prices. The operator returned in 2020 when the gold price was over US$1,900 per ounce, and in April 2024, the company announced the completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA).