Omai’s Wenot diamond drilling in Region 7 yields success

…extends resources to west with 1st step out drilling

Canada-based Omai Gold Mines has announced that the first diamond drilling at its operations in Guyana has extended the deposit of the Wenot Pit in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) to the west.

In a statement on Friday, Omai said that the drilling was successful at extending the Wenot deposit to the west and further step out drilling has continued.
Two holes were stepped out to the west. The first hole hit 5.01 grams per tonne gold over 8.5 metres from 215m depth, while the other hole intersected 2.32 grams per tonne of the yellow metal over 17.1m starting from 246.9m depth.
The mining company noted that these results open a significant new region for exploration and in un-mined areas in proximity to the Wenot resource area.
Omai’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Elaine Ellingham, noted “We are very pleased that our drilling has established that the Wenot shear zone extends to the west and continues to host significant gold mineralization. The gold mineralization in these new holes is similar to the main zones at Wenot. We recently deployed the second drill to commence step out drilling on the eastern extension of the Wenot deposit, roughly two kilometers to the east.”
“Our objective is to work towards a revised NI 43-101 Wenot resource, assuming favourable results continue as we explore both the east and west extensions of the Wenot shear. Expanding the Wenot resource into these un-mined areas is significant for an ultimate mine plan as these could contribute to lower-strip-ratio starter pits for the larger Wenot deposit,” Ellingham stated.
Drilling commenced along the western extension of the Wenot gold zones at the end of March with five holes completed to date and one additional hole underway. Results are available for the first two holes, and additional results are pending.
While the Omai Gold mine was operating, much of this area to the west of the Wenot pit was covered by the mill, other service buildings, access roads and other mine infrastructure, almost all of which has since been removed, now allowing for exploration.
Meanwhile, trenching and drilling exploration continues on targets west of the Fennell pit and to the southwest of the Wenot pit, with follow up trenching and sampling, and subsequent drilling of eight holes in four target areas in February and into early April.
Assays for the initial five diamond drill holes, which totalled 1213m in four target areas, showed results from three drill holes in the Blueberry Hill area of 0.9m at 41.74 g/t gold from 150.6m depth.
Another trench, following six large trenches reported in February, which showed high grade gold, was also completed on the eastern side of Blueberry Hill with one channel sample showing 5.13 g/t gold over 1m.
Back in January, Omai had disclosed an initial resource estimate for the Wenot deposit, which showed 703,300 ounces of gold in the indicated category and 940,000 ounces in inferred.
Omai Gold Mines, which returned to the Wenot and Fennell pits in 2020 after leaving Guyana in 2015, had announced in December 2020 that it would be pressing forward with a 5000-metre drilling programme.
Only last month, Omai announced the acceleration of exploration in its Wenot pit, where a second drill has been added and has already started working. That drilling was intended to supplement the work being done by the first one on nearby targets.
The CEO had said that the company is focused on advancing exploration in Guyana to create tangible value and real growth for its shareholders. She had noted that the second drill at the Omai Gold Project in Guyana will allow them to accelerate work to expand the Wenot resource.
This was after Omai announced in February that it would continue drilling at its Region Seven location since it believes that even more deposits of gold are available at the Wenot deposit.
Omai Gold Mines Corp, through its wholly owned subsidiary Avalon Gold Exploration Inc, holds a 100 per cent interest in the Omai Prospecting Licence that includes the past producing Omai Gold Mine, and a 100 per cent interest in the adjoining Eastern Flats Mining Permits.
Once South America’s largest producing gold mine, Omai produced over 3.7 million ounces of gold between 1993 and 2005.
In 2022, the company announced an initial mineral resource estimate on the new Wenot gold deposit. Omai’s short-term priorities are to build on the known mineral resources, while advancing exploration on key targets, providing a solid opportunity to create significant value for all stakeholders.