GMIN eyes LNG from GTE project for Oko West gold mine
Jun 12, 2025
Drone view of the Oko West camp
Kaieteur News – Canadian gold developer, G Mining Ventures (GMIN), the 100 per cent beneficial owner of the Oko West gold project has its eyes set on the Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project as a future source of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to support its gold project located in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Guyana.
The company revealed the possibility in its latest feasibility study NI 43-101 technical report for the Oko West project, made public this week. In that report, the company outlined challenges and plans for power supply at the project site, where 350,000 ounces of gold is expected to be produced annually from both open pit and underground mining over 12.3 years. The project holds an estimated indicated resource of 5.4 million ounces of gold.
GMIN stated that currently, no grid electricity exists in the remote interior region, particularly no power lines, substations, or existing energy facilities near the Oko West gold project.
The gold miner outlined that Guyana’s national power infrastructure relies on heavy fuel oil and diesel-powered plants along the coast and in key inland towns such as Linden and Bartica.
To meet its operational energy needs, GMIN is expected to develop a power plant for the mine. While specific fuel sources were not disclosed in the report, the company pointed to LNG from the Gas-to-Energy project which will be located at the Wales, West Bank Demerara, Region Three, as a potential long-term option.
An artist’s depiction of the Wales GTE
The GTE project, an endeavor by the Government of Guyana and ExxonMobil, includes a 300-megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired power plant and LNG production facility, set to be Guyana’s largest energy project to date. The initiative will process natural gas from offshore Stabroek Block fields, namely the Liza Phase 1 and 2 developments delivered via a 12-inch pipeline which was built by Exxon. The gas will be transported to the project site at Wales, where 50 million standard cubic feet per day (mscfpd) of gas will be converted to electricity daily. There is potential to increase gas production up to 120 mscfpd of gas, part of which will be converted into LNG for domestic use and export.
GMIN has signaled interest in accessing LNG from this source to fuel Oko West’s power plant, thereby reducing dependence on more costly and carbon-intensive diesel or heavy fuel oil.
It should be noted that the government has promised to slash electricity bills by 50 per cent through the US$2 billion project. However, the GTE project has been further delayed, with the new completion deadline now set for the second quarter of 2026. The project is being executed by a joint venture between CH4 (Texas) and Lindsayca (Puerto Rico). The companies hired in 2022 are constructing the plant and NGL facility at a cost of US$759 million. The government and the contractor are currently involved in arbitration over the GTE contract dispute.
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