Omai Gold Mines just told the world that it is sitting on 2.5 million ounces of gold in the heart of Guyana, valued at more than US$11 billion at today’s prices. The company celebrated. The press releases flowed. And somewhere in Georgetown, the question that should have been asked loudest was barely whispered: what does Guyana actually get?
Guyanese have spent years learning, often the hard way, what it means to have oil pulled from their waters under terms that favour the extractor. The Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement with ExxonMobil has been dissected, debated, and condemned in Parliament and on the street. Critics have long argued that the royalty rate of two percent is among the lowest in the world for a country of Guyana’s resource profile. Two cents on every dollar. That conversation, however painful, is at least happening.
The conversation about gold is not.
Omai’s deposit sits in Region Seven, the same Cuyuni-Mazaruni corridor that has quietly fed foreign balance sheets for decades. The historic Omai mine ran from 1993 to 2005 and produced 3.8 million ounces of gold when prices were below US$400 per ounce. Today, gold trades above US$4,500. The math is staggering. And the company has now confirmed it is preparing for what its own chief executive called a potential multi-decade operation.
Multi-decade. Billions of dollars. Extracted from Guyanese soil.
So the question must be asked plainly: what royalty rate applies to gold mined in Guyana, how is it calculated, and is it being collected and accounted for in full? What local content obligations exist, and are they being enforced? What percentage of profits, if any, flows back to the communities of Region Seven, where the land is worked and the environmental consequences are borne?
These are not hostile questions. They are the minimum a resource-rich nation owes its citizens.
Guyana has made considerable noise, rightly so, about ensuring oil wealth does not repeat the resource curse that has hollowed out other nations. But that vigilance cannot stop at the offshore platforms. It must extend to every ridge, every riverbank, and every drilling rig operating under a Guyanese licence.
Omai’s project may well be a legitimate, well-managed operation that benefits this country. But benefit must be proven, not assumed. The numbers being shared publicly are the company’s numbers, celebrating the company’s growth. Where is the corresponding government statement detailing what Guyana’s share looks like?
Until that question has a public, verified answer, the celebration belongs entirely to the shareholders.
SOURCE: Kaieteur News, “Guyana gold pushes OMAI reserves to 2.5 million ounces,” April 16, 2026
