Major discoveries, billion-dollar deals and the race for Guyana’s next gold find

• Multi-million-ounce gold discoveries have put Guyana’s Oko district on the map
• Altair Minerals has launched a 75,000m drill blitz in search of new deposits
• Liberty Metals is ramping up exploration after recently moving into the region

Guyana is one of South America’s smallest countries.

It lies on the North Atlantic coast and is culturally connected to the Caribbean, with its capital Georgetown known for its British colonial architecture.

Beyond the city, more than 80% of the nation is covered by Amazonian rainforest.

But what lies beneath the canopy is attracting growing investor interest in Canada and Australia.

Guyana’s gold potential is nothing new.

The discovery of nuggets in the 1850s laid the foundation for an industry that has played an important role in the economy for more than 150 years.

Artisanal and small-scale mining has provided employment in remote communities, supported livelihoods, and made significant contributions to export earnings and government revenue.

Today, discoveries in the Oko district of northcentral Guyana are putting the country’s hard-rock gold potential on the radar.

What was once known for alluvial mining has emerged as a large-scale exploration and development story, with more than 9Moz uncovered in the region across neighbouring projects.

Canada’s G Mining Ventures has moved to consolidate the district through two recent acquisitions valued at nearly C$4 billion combined.

Nearby, ASX explorer Altair Minerals (ASX:ALR) has seen its share price climb more than 500% since acquiring its Greater Oko project last August.

Its tenure covers areas along strike from the nearby discoveries, with a 75,000m drill blitz now underway.

Liberty Metals (ASX:LIB) joined the regional hunt this August after acquiring 180km2 of ground interpreted to cover extensions of the mineralised trend hosting the Oko deposits.

It has since appointed members of the team behind some of the region’s original discoveries to drive its exploration push.

The company is also undergoing a name change to El Dorado Goldfields (ASX:EDO) to reflect its newfound focus, with trading under its new identity starting on Friday 23 October.

Two discoveries put Oko on the map

The modern Oko gold story was born with Canadian explorer Reunion Gold.

In 2018, encouraging results from sampling of alluvial mining waste dumps and a favourable geological setting prompted the company to secure an option over two groups of mining permits.

These included the Oko West project.

Subsequent drilling uncovered the Kairuni deposit, establishing Oko West as a major discovery.

By 2024 the project had a resource totalling about 4.3Moz of contained gold in the indicated category and 1.6Moz inferred.

Nearby, fellow Canadian outfit G2 Goldfields was making its own discoveries across the Oko-Ghanie project.

The discoveries set the scene for a major consolidation.

G Mining Ventures took that chance in 2024 through its C$875 million tie-up with Reunion Gold, gaining control of Oko West.

It announced a second deal this April, agreeing to acquire G2 Goldfields in a transaction worth about C$3 billion.

The agreement consolidated Oko-Ghanie and Oko West under one umbrella.

G Mining Ventures is now advancing Oko West towards production, targeting 350,000 ounces of annual output over a mine life of more than 12 years.

Construction is underway, with commercial production pencilled in for early 2028.

The group is also evaluating the potential integration of Oko-Ghanie into a larger mining operation, targeting output of 500,000 ounces per annum.

Expanded production is targeted for 2029.

Nearby, Altair and Liberty are looking to carve their own names into the evolving Oko gold story, with exploration across their respective projects kicking into gear.

Altair steps up

Altair secured the right to earn up to a 70% interest in the Greater Oko project in August last year.

The move captured a substantial exploration position in a region where fragmented mining permits historically limited the size of individual landholdings.

Management believes the tenure represents the largest gold exploration project in Guyana.

It covers 457km2 and includes about 18km of strike along the Oko Shear Contact – the same structure that hosts the nearby gold deposits.

Altair’s current focus is the South Oko area, where exploration is targeting extensions of the mineralised shear.

Recent trenching hints at the prospect’s potential, with results including 10m at 10.15g/t Au.

All six trenches returned mineralisation within an area measuring about 1.5km by 1.0km.

Other results included 10m at 1.42g/t Au and 16m at 1.32g/t Au.

Two rigs are now smashing out the metres at South Oko as part of a 15,000m drill blitz.

The campaign forms part of a broader 75,000m program across several prospects at Greater Oko.

Early outcomes from North Peters appear encouraging, with visible gold observed in two separate quartz-carbonate vein systems in one diamond hole.

The lower interval sits about 12m below a historical intercept that delivered 84.5m at 4.81g/t Au.

Another nearby hole previously returned 19.6m at 5.8g/t Au.

First assays from the new drilling at North Peters are due in November.

Other priority targets at Greater Oko include Old Granny and Kmung, with past drilling at Kmung serving up 14m at 3.5g/t Au and 9m at 3.2g/t Au.

Altair’s exploration push is backed by more than $33 million in cash at the end of June, following a $28.2 million placement to UK-based gold miner Endeavour Mining in April.

Altair’s tenure in the Oko district. Pic: Altair Minerals

Liberty enters the race

Liberty secured a major foothold in the Oko district this August, with an option to acquire 90% of two projects covering about 180km2.

The acquisition was supported by a $5 million placement to fund exploration.

The Oko North and Oko South blocks lie about 60km apart and provide Liberty with exposure to about 60km of the broader Oko district trend.

Combined, they represent one of the largest mining permit packages in the region.

Both blocks sit within the Barama-Mazaruni greenstone belt and are interpreted to cover extensions of the mineralised trend hosting the Oko gold deposits.

The tenure has seen limited systematic exploration despite hosting widespread historical artisanal and alluvial workings.

In September, Liberty reported maiden rock chip sampling results from Oko North, with grades reaching 2.32g/t Au and 1.94g/t Au.

The results confirmed gold mineralisation in hard rock, supporting its interpretation that alluvial gold in the area may be derived from a primary source within its ground.

Oko North adjoins ground held by G2 Ventures, where past drilling at the New Oko discovery returned 60m at 5.9g/t Au and 100m at 2.2g/t Au.

G2 Ventures’ Oko NW discovery also sits nearby, where drilling delivered 15m at 6.3g/t Au.

Liberty Metals’ Oko North and Oko South projects. Pic: Liberty Metals

Liberty is now undertaking a soil geochemical program covering about 5000 samples across Oko North and Oko South.

The results are expected to finetune targets for planned maiden drilling.

The company has also recruited members of the team behind the Oko-Ghanie discoveries to lead its exploration push.

The new lineup includes former G2 Goldfields vice-president of exploration Boaz Wade, who will work alongside Liberty’s exploration manager Finlay Goodwin to advance the projects.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Liberty Metals is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.

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