Omai Gold Mines – Visual Review & Key Metrics Of The Updated PEA On The Wenot and Gilt Deposits

The KE Report Sep 3, 2026 32:30

Summary

Omai's updated PEA outlines 6.3 million ounces of payable gold over 18 years, averaging 351k ounces annually at $1,608/oz AISC.

The PEA delivers a $4.0 billion after-tax NPV at a 5% discount and a 24% IRR using a $3,600/oz base-case gold price.

Targeted drilling of flanking zones pulled the strip ratio down to 5.9, beating analyst expectations of 7.8 to 10.

Management is weighing whether to skip a pre-feasibility study and advance straight to a feasibility study on this brownfield past-producer site.

Omai stands as the remaining large undeveloped gold project in Guyana after three peer companies were acquired in recent years.

Ellingham describes the updated PEA (released August 19, about two weeks before the as-of date) as a major step up, with roughly 350,000 oz/year over an 18-year mine life (6.3 Moz total) versus the 2024 starter PEA's 142,000 oz/year.
The PEA assumes a 25,000-ton-per-day plant (270% larger than the first estimate), an average grade of 1.35 g/t, and a strip ratio of 5.9 that came in well below analyst expectations of 10, with an NPV of just under $4 billion at a $3,600/oz gold price assumption.
Combined Wenot open-pit and Gilt underground resources total about 8 million ounces across M&I and inferred; recent deep drilling extends the Gilt intrusion past 1,200 m vertically and the Wenot geology 700 m below the existing deposit, with the team aiming to push the mine life toward 20 years.
Metallurgical test work returned 93-95% recoveries with a 32-hour optimal leach time and no deleterious elements, and feasibility-stage comminution testing is now underway using recently completed wide-diameter core.
Ellingham frames Omai as possibly the last large-resource junior in Guyana after recent takeovers of Reunion, G2 Goldfields, and Goldsource; the share price is up 78% YTD against ~10% for the GDXJ.

Top takeaway Ellingham argues the updated PEA scales production from 142,000 oz/year in the 2024 starter study to 350,000 oz/year over 18 years (6.3 Moz total) with an NPV of just under $4 billion at $3,600/oz gold.
She credits the better-than-expected 5.9 strip ratio to drilling that captured flanking zones on the south side of the Wenot pit, and notes the team is aiming to push the mine life toward 20 years.
She positions Omai as a brownfield development project (paved highway within 8 km, refurbished tailings, supportive Guyanese government) and says the company is well-financed and may skip a separate PFS to move directly toward a feasibility study.
She contends the gold-price backdrop favors major M&A as majors sit on cash and need to grow through acquisitions, making Omai a potential target after the Reunion, G2 Goldfields, and Goldsource takeovers in Guyana.
She notes Omai is up 78% YTD versus ~10% for the GDXJ, and says her goal is to ensure shareholders get recognition for the value created, including pushing the Blueberry Hill near-surface target with a mobilized drill.

Top takeaway Host Shad Markwitz argues Omai may be the last major-resource junior in Guyana after recent takeovers of Reunion, G2 Goldfields, and Goldsource, suggesting the project could attract a bid from a larger producer.
Markwitz frames the PEA's $3,600/oz gold assumption as conservative given that spot prices at the time of the interview are well above that level, implying upside versus the published metrics.

Top takeaway Brewster says the Gilt underground is currently planned entirely as drift-and-fill, producing a high underground cost of about $81/ton, but argues a blended plan using bulk methods like long hole open stoping in the central core could materially lower costs.
He describes the Wenot pit as one large pit in three nested phases, with a possible reconfiguration to start at the western end near Snake Pond to bring higher-grade ounces into the early years of the mine plan.
The underground is designed for 4,000 tons per day using a double-ramp layout (one for people and materials, one for haulage); about 800,000 oz of mineralization sits outside the current engineered pit, with three drills working the west end to bring some into the starter pit.