Omai Gold Mines

Omai Gold Mines

"Located in Guyana, South America, the Omai mine is Cambior’s largest gold mine, representing 52% of the Company’s consolidated gold production in 2003. Mine production has been decreasing from a peak of 354,300 ounces in 2001, and the reserves are expected to be fully depleted in late 2005.

"The Omai mine is an open-pit operation with a cyanidation and carbon-in-pulp (CIP) processing plant. The plant capacity was reduced as planned in May 2003 from 21,000 to 15,500 tonnes per day following the depletion of soft ore.

"The mine operations are subject to a 5% royalty on gold production, payable in kind to the Government of Guyana.

"In 2003, the Omai mine produced 271,000 ounces of gold, in line with the original 2003 mine plan. The mill processed 5.7 million tonnes of ore (15,750 tonnes per day) at an average grade of 1.61 g Au/t. To date, the Omai mine has produced a total of 3.2 million ounces of gold."

"Guyana’s own position as a gold producing country was first prominently highlighted when Cambior built the Omai Gold Mine here in the early Nineties. At the time it was built, Omai was the largest gold mine in that part of the world. Over 13 years, the Omai produced some 3.7-million ounces of gold from a 42.9-million tonne heap-leachable resource grading 1.4 grams/tonne gold (Cambior Annual Report 2005, page 13)."

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