Avellon Williams
GUYANA- A gold deposit of 1.6 million ounces has been discovered in Omai Gold Mines’ Wenot Pit in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
According to Omai, this discovery represents a significant milestone for a company that had lost its reputation as South America’s largest gold mine.
Elaine Ellingham, Omai’s President, and Chief Executive Officer said in a press release that the mineral found in the Wenot pit offers a great basis for expanding the property’s potential gold resources.
“Not only is the Wenot deposit open along strike and at depth, it is located approximately 400 metres south of the past-producing Fennell open pit that hosts a significant historical gold mineral resource that also remains open at depth,” Ellingham added.
The press release noted that the initial Wenot mineral resource justifies the potential to expand the known deposits and, together with Fennell’s historical mineral resource, demonstrate the potential to re-build Omai into a multimillion-ounce project.
“We also see potential elsewhere on the property for additional Wenot-type and Fennell-type deposits,” Ellingham said.
She disclosed that since late November, with the Wenot mineral resource drilling completed, Omai has shifted its focus to exploring near-surface mineralisation that may have the potential for producing additional ounces suitable for open-pit mining.
Despite the many challenges presented by the novel coronavirus pandemic, Ellingham praised Omai’s exploration team for delivering notable results.
“Their experience and dedication allowed us to complete the Company’s first NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate on the timeline set out at the end of 2020,” Ellingham said.
The CEO expressed great confidence that the exploration team will continue to drive the company to further exploration success, in 2022.
As per the press release: “Omai Gold Mines Corp., through its wholly-owned subsidiary Avalon Gold Exploration Incorporated, holds a 100 percent interest in the Omai Prospecting License covering 4,590 acres (18.575 sq. km) that includes the past-producing Omai gold mine, and a 100 percent interest in the adjoining Eastern Flats Mining Permits covering 1,519 acres.”
A critical phase of Omai’s development produced over 3.7 million ounces of gold between 1993 and 2005. However, mining ceased when gold prices were below US$400 per ounce, leaving significant drilled mineral resources untapped and prime exploration targets untested.
“The company’s short-term priorities are to verify and expand the known mineral resources, while advancing exploration on key targets, providing a solid opportunity to create significant value for all stakeholders,” the company said.
Omai only recently announced its intention to restart operations with an initial investment of $12 million in the Guyana Chronicle.
The company reported that its operations in Guyana concluded in 2015 after 24 years.
As part of its return, the company said it aimed to engage and potentially support small miners, as well as to employ hundreds of workers. In its early days, the company employed more than 1,000 people.
As of now, Guyana has over 25 mining companies and large-scale producers of oil like Exxon Mobil, which are heavily investing in the country’s infrastructure and workforce.
This “economic renaissance,” according to Omai, has led the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to rate Guyana as the fastest growing economy in the world, and determine that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$3.5 billion is expected to triple within the next five years.
There is no doubt that Guyana has enormous potential, and Omai announced just a few days ago that it had completed its previously announced reverse takeover transaction in which it acquired all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Avalon Investment Holdings Inc. (“AIHL”), a private Barbados corporation.
The AIHL is the parent company of Avalon Gold Exploration, a Guyanese company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and potential development of precious metal mineral properties in Guyana, including the former Omai Gold Mines in the Omai/Potaro Mining District No.2.
