Omega Minerals Plc
Location
British Columbia, Canada
The Omega project covers a vast land area in the historically famous Cariboo gold mining region with potentially a multi-million ounce gold resource in British Columbia, Canada. British Columbia is one of Canada’s most prolific and most promising regions for gold production.
The Project is approximately 37.8km east of Quesnel, a town of 10,000 people located in the Cariboo Mining District in east-central British Columbia, Canada. Travel from Vancouver to Quesnel is via the Trans-Canadian Highway Number 1 to Kamloops and then onto the Cariboo Highway Number 97, with a journey time of eight hours, Figure 2-1. Alternatively, Quesnel has daily flights to/from Vancouver and is also serviced by the tourist train “The Rocky Mountaineer”.
The Cardinal Channel
The Cardinal Channel in British Columbia is a noteworthy gold prospecting zone, boasting a rich geological history ideal for gold deposits. Nestled in an area where ancient volcanic activity was rampant, this zone features an abundance of quartz veins, a common gold host rock.
Over time, glaciers in the region have eroded these gold-hosting rocks, dispersing gold particles throughout the channel. As these glaciers retreated, they left behind gold-laden gravels and sediments, making the Cardinal Channel an alluring destination for prospectors.
This geologically dynamic area underwent several transformation phases millions of years ago, including the accretion of exotic terranes and complex tectonic activities. The amalgamation of terranes resulted in a diverse geological setting, making the Channel a strategic location for gold prospecting. Tectonic forces, magma, and volcanic activities enriched the area’s metallogenic profile, ultimately paving the way for significant gold mineralization.
Volcaniclastic rocks dominate the Channel, which are crucial for gold deposit formation. These rocks underwent alterations, causing the precipitation of minerals including gold, within the rock’s porous sections. Gold is typically found associated with quartz veins, providing prospectors with clear targets for exploration. The Cardinal Channel also lies within a broader geological setting known for its gold-bearing potential, the Eureka Thrust. This geological feature represents a significant fault zone where the immense pressures and fluids associated with tectonic activity have mobilized and concentrated gold.
Property Acquisition
In our previous Investor Update (Dec. 2023), we reported on the outstanding results of last season’s exploration program, the headline story being the summer drilling program and the expansion of the alluvial gold resource, which increased from approximately 2 million ounces of gold in 2022 to more than 10 million ounces in 2023 (combined indicated, inferred resource and extrapolated estimates).
The company has an impressive track record, having expanded its alluvial gold resource from 60,000 ounces in 2020 to 2 million ounces in 2022 and to more than 10 million ounces of gold in 2023. The extracted value of the unmined gold would be worth more than US$20 billion at today’s gold price ($2,000 Oz.).
In addition to the alluvial resource, Omega owns the rights to mineral deposits (hard rock) covering about the same area as the alluvial properties. The Hard Rock mining potential of the Mineral rights is in addition to the estimated alluvial resource and could also be millions of ounces. The potential gold resource buried deep in the hard rock is not included in the estimates at this time until we have conducted further drilling and surveying, but works carried out so far indicate promising potential.
Omega’s Alluvial resource is currently estimated at more than 10 million ounces of gold, and over 10,000 hectares of gold properties.
Omega Minerals PLC
Incorporated in England (reg. number 11073509)
85 Great Portland Street, Floor 1,
London, England, W1W 7LT
Tel: 020 3883 5845