Omai Gold Announces Preliminary Economic Assessment for Its Omai Project, Guyana
OMAI Gold Mines Corp. (OMG) has announced positive results from its Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the 100%-owned Omai Property in Guyana. The assessment combines the Wenot open pit and Gilt underground deposits, projecting an 18-year mine life with total payable gold production of approximately 6.33 million ounces, averaging 351,488 ounces per year.
At a base case gold price of $3,600/oz, the project yields a $4.0 billion after-tax Net Present Value (NPV) at a 5% discount rate, a 24% after-tax Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and a 4.1-year payback period. The production profile indicates total payable gold of 6,326,775 ounces over the life of mine, with a peak year production of 435,667 ounces. The average head grade is 1.35 g/t Au, with a process recovery of 93% and an average strip ratio of 5.9:1.
Financial metrics at the base case gold price include initial capital expenditures of $1.427 billion, with sustaining and growth capital totaling $928 million, bringing total life-of-mine capital to $2.396 billion. Average cash operating costs are estimated at $1,501/oz, while All-In Sustaining Costs (AISC) are projected at $1,608/oz. Cumulative after-tax cash flows are expected to reach $8.093 billion. Under a sensitivity analysis at a gold price of $4,200/oz, the after-tax NPV (5%) rises to $5.5 billion, the after-tax IRR increases to 30%, and the payback period shortens to 3.4 years.
The mining plan involves extracting 134.1 Mt at 1.08 g/t Au (4.641 Moz Au) from the Wenot open pit using conventional truck-and-shovel methods, including 19% mining dilution. The Gilt underground deposit will extract 22.6 Mt at 2.98 g/t Au (2.164 Moz Au) using drift-and-fill mining with cemented paste backfill, targeting a production rate of 4,000 tpd starting in Year 3. Processing will be handled by a 25,000 tpd Carbon-in-Leach (CIL) plant.
The mineral resource estimate, dated April 2026, totals 7.96 Moz Au. This includes 2.495 Moz Au at 2.04 g/t Au (38.1 Mt) in the Indicated category and 5.465 Moz Au at 1.59 g/t Au (106.6 Mt) in the Inferred category. Specifically, the Wenot Indicated resource is 1.453 Moz Au at 1.59 g/t Au (28.4 Mt), while the Gilt Indicated resource is 1.04 Moz Au at 3.33 g/t Au (9.7 Mt).
Technical parameters include cutoff grades of 0.20 g/t Au for soft rock, 0.30 g/t Au for hard rock, and 1.70 g/t Au for underground operations. Since the April 2026 mineral resource estimate, 77 additional drill holes have been completed at Wenot, with assays pending for some. The base case assumes on-site heavy fuel oil (HFO) generation, comprising 60 MW initially and 14 MW for underground operations. SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd. serves as the Qualified Person for the assessment.
"We are very pleased to deliver this PEA, which reinforces the potential for Omai to become a very large-scale mining operation with a clear path to bringing significant economic benefits to the people of Guyana. This project's proposed initial $1.4 billion investment into Guyana, equivalent to over GUY$300 billion would create many quality jobs and spin-off economic development within the interior of the country, while providing solid returns for investors," said Elaine Ellingham, President and CEO.
"This PEA serves as an important milestone and provides a base from which we intend to advance the project on multiple fronts towards a feasibility study," added Ellingham.