− company says other promising locations targeted for drilling
Canadian company Omai Goldmines, which is operating out of the Wenot pit in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), reported that it found multiple gold deposits during its latest round of drilling.
According to a statement issued by the company, gold mineralisation was discovered in multiple shears below the Wenot pit, including 16.8 grams per tonne (g/t) over 6 metres and 4.6 g/t over 20 metres below. This means that Omai has found gold in all 15 holes drilled this year.
Omai CEO Elaine Ellingham
“Visible gold has been seen in almost every Wenot hole drilled this year. Although this accounts for some of the high gold values, gold mineralization within the alteration halos, as well as in small, less conspicuous quartz-carbonate veins and veinlets will be significant contributors to the gold resource at Wenot,” Omai said in its statement.
The statement also quoted the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elaine Ellingham, who commented on Omai’s great potential for further discoveries. According to her, the strong results from the latest drilling lend credence to the work they are doing.
“With over 35 years in exploration, I truly appreciate projects like Omai with great potential for significant discoveries… with our independent qualified person (“QP”) commencing shortly, our team will be freed up to focus on the exploration plans through to mid-2022. There are a number of very prospective targets for additional gold deposits on the Omai property, for example at Fennell, with an unmined historic resource.”
“We also see several exploration targets that hold potential for significant near-surface gold deposits that could accelerate the overall development of the project. We will be initiating work on these other exploration targets starting in November and on Fennell early in the new year,” she further explained.
In previous years, the Wenot pit produced approximately 1.4 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 1.5 gpt between 1993 and 2002. According to Omai, the pit was mined to a maximum depth of 200 metres.
Going forward, Omai intends to conduct an independent Qualified Person (QP) report into the Wenot resource, which will provide a detailed analysis of the mineralisation potential of the Wenot pit. In the meantime, drilling under the pit will continue through October of this year, while the report is expected at year end or early in 2022.
Omai Gold Mines returned to the Wenot and Fennell pits at the Region Seven site only in 2020, after leaving Guyana in 2015. It had announced in December that it would be pressing forward with the 5000-metre drilling programme.
It was only last November that Omai Gold Mines, which is aiming to reclaim its place as Guyana’s top gold producer, had announced the impending resumption of trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, following the recent reverse takeover of Avalon Investment Holdings.
There has been a flurry of gold finds from last year. In February 2021, Gold X Mining, another Canadian company, found gold in the Toroparu mine during its now concluded diamond drill programme, resulting in the company launching phase two of its drilling.
In November of last year, Australia-based mining company Alicanto Minerals also announced its first-ever gold find in Guyana. According to Alicanto, it discovered a maiden resource of 500,000 ounces of gold at its Arakaka gold mine, which is located in Region One.
