G Mining Ventures recently graduated to the TSX. Could you reflect on the company’s evolution and recent financial performance?

G Mining was founded in 2020 and acquired the Tocantinzinho (TZ) gold project in the state of Pará, Brazil in 2021. Last year, we put TZ into commercial production at a prolific time for gold prices. We recently reported our financial results for the Q4 of 2024, reflecting our first quarter of commercial production: We produced over 40,000 oz of gold at a competitive AISC of US$862/oz and generated a net income of US$47.6 million and free cash flow of US$53 million. TZ has now become our cash flow engine to fund the next project, the recently acquired Oko West project in Guyana, which will become our largest and flagship mine. While TZ has an annual capacity of 175,000 oz/y Au for a LOM of at least 10 years, Oko West is a larger deposit 4.6 million oz slated to produce 350,000 oz/y. 

Could you comment on the DFS results at Oko West?

Oko West is a highly robust, large-scale gold project with an estimated initial capital cost of approximately US$1 billion. The extensive deposit will be developed using both open-pit and underground mining methods. The processing plant is based on a conventional metallurgical flowsheet using gravity concentration and leaching designed for an initial throughput of 7 million t/y. The project has a planned mine life of 12.3 years, and is expected to produce an average of 350,000 oz/y. At a gold price of US$2,500/oz, the project delivers an after-tax NPV (5%) of US$2.1 billion, with a payback period of under three years. 

Following the receipt of the interim environmental permit (IEP), what are the current workstreams at Oko West?

Late last year, we received the IEP from the Guyana Environmental Protection Agency and the authorities have reviewed a preliminary ESIA, upon which comments were received and we are currently working on the last adjustments to issue a final ESIA to the government in April. We expect to receive the full environmental permit by mid-year. Making use of the interim permit, we have already begun early works construction activities in March and we are now focusing on logistics infrastructure. 

What do you make of Guyana’s permitting process and overall environment for building a mine?

Guyana is probably one of the best jurisdictions out there in terms of permitting timelines and the ability to move projects into production fast. It has only been two years between the initial resource estimate at Oko West and receiving an interim permit, something incredibly rare in the permitting world. We are looking at a 2.5-year construction period with first gold pour expected in the last quarter of 2027 and official commercial production kicking off in 2028. Guyana has been altogether very supportive. 

Is access to talent a challenge in the country?

Guyana’s entire population is that of a small city in Brazil. Nevertheless, the government is supportive of training and we have collaborated with the Board of Industrial Training to run some capacity building and upskilling programs. Also, Guyana has a long history in both bauxite mining and experience in gold mining with the Omai Gold Mines in the 1990s. The expertise is there. In fact, we had 15 Guyanese mining professionals traveling to Brazil to help with the construction of our TZ mine, and they are now relocating to Guyana to do the same for Oko West. 

Could you also comment on the recent acquisition of the Gurupi project and your longer-term portfolio strategy? 

The Gurupi project, formerly known as CentroGold under BHP, consists of three open-pit deposits with an NI 43-101 compliant MRE of 1.83 million oz in indicated resources. We are restarting exploration this year, with an allocated budget between US$2 to US$4 million in resource expansion drilling. 

Do you have a final message?

Oko West is one of the world’s best gold projects under development right now; its size, grade, and exposure to a relatively new jurisdiction drawing a lot of attention from investors globally. We are excited to transition into a diversified gold producer with two high quality assets under our belt and a clear pathway for growth going forward.