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South America-focused explorer Reunion Gold (TSX-V: RGD) has reached a key agreement with the government of Guyana, ensuring stable conditions for the Oko West gold project’s lifespan and committing to local workforce development as well as environmental and social initiatives.
As part of the deal, which aligns with Guyana’s mining policy, the Canadian company has set up a $1 million annual fund for community projects.
Reunion Gold noted it continues to advances the project in northwest Guyana towards a construction decision, with a preliminary economic assessment expected by mid-year.
“This significant milestone marks an important de-risking step towards the development of the Oko West project and underscores the robust support extended by the government of Guyana towards the project’s development,” CEO Rick Howes said in the statement.
Discovered by Reunion’s initial drill program in 2021, Oko West is located south of the historical “Oko” gold district, about 95 km west of Georgetown.
Initial drilling by the company confirmed the presence of gold mineralization that coincides with the northern portion of a 6-km-long gold-in-soil geochemical anomaly. Most of the drilling to date has taken place at the northern 2 km of that anomaly, referred to as the Kairuni zone.
A first resource estimate was completed in June 2023 following extensive drilling at Kairuni. Earlier this year, Reunion updated that resource to 64.6 million tonnes grading 2.05 g/t gold for 4.3 million oz. in the indicated category and 19.2 million tonnes grading 2.59 g/t gold for 1.6 million oz. in the inferred category.
The February 2024 resource showed both an increase in size and grades, both open pit and underground, and is expected to be included in the upcoming preliminary economic assessment (PEA) study.
