Omai Gold Announces Preliminary Economic Assessment for Its Omai Project, Guyana

OMAI Gold Mines Corp. (OMG) released a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on August 19, 2026, for its 100%-owned Omai Project in Guyana. The study combines the Wenot open-pit deposit and the adjacent Gilt underground deposit into a single development concept. The PEA projects an 18-year mine life with total payable gold production of 6,326,775 ounces. Average annual production is estimated at 351,488 ounces, with peak annual production reaching 435,667 ounces.

At a base-case gold price of $3,600 per ounce, the PEA reports an after-tax net present value (NPV) at a 5% discount rate of $4.0 billion, an after-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 24%, and a payback period of 4.1 years. At the spot gold price of $4,200 per ounce referenced in the release, the after-tax NPV5% rises to $5.5 billion, the IRR increases to 30%, and the payback period falls to 3.4 years. Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $1.427 billion, including $285 million of contingency. Total life-of-mine capital is estimated at $2.396 billion, comprising $293 million of underground growth capital, $636 million of sustaining capital, and $41 million of reclamation costs. Average cash operating cost is estimated at $1,501 per ounce, and all-in sustaining cost is estimated at $1,608 per ounce.

The PEA assumes an average head grade of 1.35 grams per tonne gold, a process recovery of 93%, and a 25,000 tonnes-per-day carbon-in-leach plant. The Wenot open pit is expected to extract 134.1 million tonnes at 1.08 grams per tonne gold, including 19% mining dilution, with an average strip ratio of 5.9 to 1. The Gilt underground mine is expected to extract 22.6 million tonnes at 2.98 grams per tonne gold, utilizing drift-and-fill mining with cemented paste backfill. Underground development begins in Year 1 of plant operations, with underground production starting in Year 3 and ramping toward 4,000 tonnes per day.

The PEA is based on the April 14, 2026 mineral resource estimate, which includes 2.495 million ounces of indicated gold and 5.465 million ounces of inferred gold. The release explicitly states that the PEA is preliminary, includes inferred mineral resources, and does not establish mineral reserves or demonstrated economic viability. Management noted that 77 additional drill holes have been completed at Wenot since the April 2026 mineral resource estimate and are not included in the PEA, with assays still pending for some holes. Next steps include continued drilling, an updated mineral resource estimate before year-end, dewatering, additional metallurgical work, engineering, permitting, and advancement toward a feasibility study.

OMAI Gold Mines Corp. (OMG) released a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) that transforms its expanded Omai resource into a large-scale conceptual mining plan with significant projected returns. The study represents a major advancement over the prior 2024 baseline PEA referenced in historical news. While the August 2025 news release indicated that the April 2024 PEA contemplated an open-pit-only scenario projecting 1.84 million ounces over 13 years, yielding an NPV at a 5% discount rate of $556 million and an IRR of 20% at a $1,950 per ounce gold price, the new PEA is substantially larger in scope.

The updated study projects 6.33 million ounces of production over an 18-year mine life, with a $4.0 billion after-tax NPV at a $3,600 gold price. This improvement is driven by a larger resource base, the inclusion of the Gilt underground deposit, higher gold price assumptions, and a lower strip ratio than previously anticipated. The timing of the release aligns with management’s guidance for an updated PEA in 2026, which was initially targeted for Q2 and later shifted to Q3.

Although the scale of the PEA is likely market-moving, the stock had already risen sharply from C$0.85 on 2025-08-19 to C$2.98 on 2026-08-18, suggesting that some anticipation was already priced in. The PEA does not eliminate major development risks; the company must still convert resources to reserves, complete a feasibility study, secure environmental permits, arrange power, and raise substantial development capital. The initial capital expenditure of $1.427 billion is large relative to the company’s current cash position. Prior-period context, not disclosed in today’s release, shows Q1 2026 cash and short-term investments of approximately $39.3 million and zero debt, based on the MD&A and financial statements. Consequently, while the release strengthens the project narrative, it does not by itself demonstrate financeability, as it remains a preliminary study rather than a construction decision, financing package, reserve estimate, or strategic investment.

Omai Gold Mines Corp. is a Canadian gold exploration and development company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker OMG and on the OTCQB under OMGGF. Its flagship asset is the 100%-owned Omai Property in Guyana, located approximately 165 km south of Georgetown. The site features road access, an on-site airstrip, and historical mine infrastructure.

Omai is a past-producing gold camp. The Omai Gold Mine produced over 3.7 million ounces of gold from 1993 to 2005, ceasing operations when gold prices fell below US$400 per ounce. The current development focus is the Wenot shear-hosted open-pit deposit and the adjacent Gilt intrusion-hosted underground deposit. Wenot serves as the larger open-pit component, while Gilt provides a higher-grade underground component.

The April 2026 mineral resource estimate forms the basis of the new preliminary economic assessment (PEA). The PEA proposes a 25,000 tonnes-per-day processing operation using grinding, gravity separation, carbon-in-leach, and detox to produce gold doré. The project benefits from existing infrastructure, including a cleared site, tailings facilities, an airstrip, and road access, but still requires major new capital and permitting work.