Critical Resources Eyes 164km² Suriname Gold Project in Underexplored Guiana Shield

CRR secures exclusive rights to 164 km² gold project in Suriname’s Guiana Shield

Critical Resources (ASX: CRR) has entered an exclusivity agreement to acquire a 90% interest in the Gonini Gold Project, comprising approximately 164 km² of granted exploitation rights across two tenements in the historic Sara Creek district of Suriname. The deal makes CRR the first ASX-listed company in many decades to hold exploration rights over a granted mining tenure in Suriname, offering Australian investors rare direct exposure to the Guiana Shield gold province.

It is important to note upfront: Gonini is a greenfield project. No JORC Mineral Resource has been estimated and no Exploration Results are reported. Completion of the acquisition remains subject to conditions precedent that may not be satisfied.

The investment hook rests on three elements: 164 km² of granted exploitation rights (not applications), more than 150 years of artisanal gold mining history in the Sara Creek district, and a hard-rock exploration opportunity that remains largely untested by modern systematic methods.

The two tenements are GMD 570A/15 (approximately 8,680 ha) and GMD 571A/15 (approximately 7,688 ha). Under the proposed structure, the Vendor retains a 10% free-carried interest to a Decision to Mine.

Why Suriname, why now — the Guiana Shield gold story

A proven gold province attracting global capital

The Guiana Shield is a Paleoproterozoic greenstone province geologically interpreted to be analogous to West Africa’s Birimian Shield — the same terranes that host Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire’s gold belts, but with materially less systematic modern exploration. The Birimian as a whole hosts an estimated 500+ Moz of discovered gold; the Guiana Shield around 100 Moz. That exploration gap is the foundation of the investment thesis.

Two operating mines validate the belt’s gold endowment. Newmont’s Merian mine commenced with 5.1 Moz Au in reserves and a projected mine life of approximately 15 years (reported under SEC Regulation S-K 1300, not in accordance with JORC). Zijin’s Rosebel mine produced 5.65 Moz between 2004 and 2021 (reported by Zijin/IAMGOLD; not in accordance with JORC). Merian sits approximately 66 km from Gonini; Rosebel approximately 88 km. Their mineralisation is not indicative of what may be found at Gonini. Gold accounted for approximately 79% of Suriname’s total exports (approximately US$2.0 billion) in 2024.

Strategic capital is validating the thesis

Major international investors are committing substantial capital to Suriname exploration right now, providing context for CRR’s timing. The table below summarises three high-profile peers — all Canadian-listed — that have attracted strategic backing from Gold Fields and La Mancha.

Third-party results and ownership have not been independently verified by Critical Resources and are provided for regional and jurisdictional context only. Results from other projects are not indicative of mineralisation at Gonini.

What makes Gonini compelling — scale, structure and an untested hard-rock opportunity

150 years of gold mining, zero modern systematic exploration

Gold was discovered in the Sara Creek district in 1876, and generations of small-scale miners have worked its alluvial, saprolite and weathered-bedrock gold ever since. Yet despite this long history, there is no record of modern systematic exploration on the Gonini rights themselves to investigate the underlying hard-rock potential.

The Vendor has held rights in the district since 2012 and conducted small-scale mining before operations were suspended in 2020. The existing workings expose saprolite and weathered bedrock, giving CRR practical starting points for geological mapping, channel sampling and the search for primary gold sources. The primary geological target is the Paramaka greenstone–tonalite/granodiorite contact, a setting associated with orogenic gold mineralisation across the belt.

The Paramaka greenstone contact at Gonini shares structural characteristics with orogenic gold settings CRR has already been investigating elsewhere in its portfolio; the orogenic system discovery at Amoco provides a direct reference point for the geological model the company is applying to this new Suriname tenure.

Granted exploitation rights — what this means for CRR

An exploitation right in Suriname is the top tier of the country’s three-tier mineral tenure system under the Mining Decree 1986 — above reconnaissance and exploration rights. Under Article 34 of the Decree, an exploitation right confers on its holder the exclusive right to mine, process, transport and market the minerals for which it is granted, to construct works and buildings on the terrain, and to continue reconnaissance and exploration within it.

In plain terms, this is a granted mining title, not an application that still needs to be approved. Both Gonini rights were granted on 4 August 2015 for 15 years, running to August 2030, and are extendable on application lodged at least two years before expiry.

Subject to the negotiation and entering into a binding agreement, this has three practical consequences for CRR:

1. Security of tenure — the rights are registered, free of mortgages and attachments, and valid to August 2030, with extension available on application
2. Optionality — the Company may progress directly from exploration to bulk sampling or trial mining on the same title if results warrant, subject to approvals and community consultation
3. Operating platform — lawful small-scale mining has been conducted on both rights, providing existing access tracks, camp infrastructure and local knowledge from the outset

CRR has undertaken no sampling on the Project, and Completion remains subject to conditions precedent.

Acquisition terms and exploration roadmap

Deal structure at a glance

The acquisition is structured with staged cash and share consideration. Key terms are as follows:

• Exclusivity payment: US$40,000 (non-refundable; to be deducted from the signing payment)
• Signing payment: US$50,000 on execution of a binding term sheet
• Completion payment: US$200,000 cash plus 10,000,000 CRR shares
• Deferred consideration: Year 2 US$250,000 / Year 3 US$350,000 / Year 4 US$500,000 / Year 5 US$650,000
• Exploration commitment: US$2,500,000 over five years
• Royalty: 2% net smelter return royalty to the Vendor; buyable back in 0.5% increments at US$500,000 per 0.5%
• Reversion clause: CRR’s 90% interest reverts to the Vendor if deferred payments or material terms are not met

The exclusivity and due diligence period runs for 60 days from execution, extendable by a further 30 days at CRR’s election, with a long-stop date of 120 days. This is not yet a completed acquisition; Completion remains subject to conditions precedent including written GMD confirmation of the registered holder, status, term and boundaries of both rights.

First steps in the field

Desktop and data-acquisition work is planned to commence immediately, running in parallel with satisfaction of the conditions precedent. CRR’s planned post-Completion exploration sequence is:

1. Desktop structural study and historical district data compilation, with a drone or helicopter magnetic survey planned over priority areas if no suitable airborne data can be obtained
2. Site visit and community engagement, including consultation with the Ndyuka (Okanisi) communities of the Sara Creek territory
3. First-pass channel sampling of pit-wall stockwork and weathered-bedrock exposures on both rights, with QA/QC procedures and analysis by an accredited laboratory
4. First-pass soil and auger geochemistry across the interpreted greenstone–batholith contact, with mechanised augers available given the depth of tropical weathering
5. Infill and auger-paired sampling over coherent anomalies, with samples taken at two depths to screen out transported responses beneath laterite and duricrust
6. Maiden drill programme, subject to results and approvals

Tim Wither, Managing Director, Critical Resources

“We believe Gonini gives Critical Resources a rare first-mover position on the ASX: a large, granted gold tenure package in Suriname at a time when global mining capital is increasingly recognising the discovery potential of the Guiana Shield. This is a gold province with major mines, major discoveries and growing strategic investment — but still a fraction of the modern exploration maturity seen elsewhere along the Guiana Shield greenstone belt.”

Gonini is intended to be the foundation asset for CRR’s gold strategy in the region, with the Company continuing to review further opportunities in Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana.

Alongside Gonini, CRR holds a diversified project pipeline across multiple jurisdictions and commodities; the gold-antimony bedrock confirmation at Croesus in New Zealand represents the company’s most advanced hard-rock gold result to date and offers context for how CRR transitions early-stage channel sampling work into defined bedrock targets.

Ready to Explore CRR’s First-Mover Position on the Gonini Gold Project?

Critical Resources has secured exclusivity over 164 km² of granted exploitation rights in Suriname’s Guiana Shield — a jurisdiction now attracting hundreds of millions in strategic capital from majors like Gold Fields and La Mancha. The Gonini Gold Project sits within a district with more than 150 years of artisanal mining history, yet remains untested by modern systematic hard-rock exploration methods.

Discover the full details of the acquisition terms, exploration roadmap, and regional gold thesis by visiting the Critical Resources project page on Discovery Alert. Stay ahead of early-stage developments as CRR advances due diligence and plans its first field programme across the Sara Creek district.