Critical Resources Engages Guiana Shield Experts to Map Suriname Gold Targets
Key Takeaways
- Critical Resources has engaged GexplOre, a Guiana Shield structural specialist led by published researcher Dr Brice Lacroix, to deliver a two-stage structural interpretation across its Gonini and Greenstars Gold Projects in Suriname.
- The two projects together cover approximately 199 km² of granted gold exploitation (mining) rights, with CRR holding exclusivity to acquire a 90% interest in each, subject to conditions precedent.
- Stage 1 deliverables — a detailed structural interpretation of two priority target areas at Gonini — are expected by mid-November 2026, with Stage 2 covering more than 6,000 km² of the surrounding greenstone belt.
- Gonini sits approximately 66 km from Newmont's Merian mine and 88 km from Zijin's Rosebel mine, both operating within the same Marowijne greenstone belt.
- CRR is the first ASX-listed Australian company in many decades to explore for gold in Suriname, entering a jurisdiction where Gold Fields has already committed C$77 million to Founders Metals for a ~19.9% stake.
Critical Resources Limited (ASX: CRR) has engaged GexplOre, a team of Guiana Shield structural specialists, to deliver a two-stage structural interpretation over its Gonini and Greenstars Gold Projects in Suriname, running concurrently with fast-tracked due diligence on both assets. The engagement marks a significant milestone: CRR is the first ASX-listed Australian company in many decades to explore for gold in Suriname.
Together, the two projects comprise approximately 199 km² of granted gold exploitation (mining) rights, with CRR holding exclusivity to acquire a 90% interest in each, subject to conditions precedent. GexplOre’s structural program will also cover more than 6,000 km² of the surrounding greenstone belt, providing regional targeting data well beyond the project boundaries.
What GexplOre will actually do
The engagement is structured as a two-stage program:
- Stage 1: A detailed, property-scale structural interpretation of two priority target areas at the Gonini Gold Project.
- Stage 2: A lower-resolution regional review covering more than 6,000 km² of the surrounding greenstone belt.
Both stages use satellite-derived data inputs, specifically Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) elevation data and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) multispectral data, processed through GexplOre’s in-house filtering workflow. Each stage will deliver an interpreted geological map, a structural map showing faults, shear zones, bedding and foliation, and structural domains ranked by gold prospectivity.
The program will be led by Dr Brice Lacroix, PhD, P.Geo., co-founder of GexplOre and a published researcher on polyphase deformation and structural controls on Guiana Shield gold. GexplOre has worked across approximately 20 Guiana Shield gold projects, including structural work at G Mining Ventures’ (TSX: GMIN) Oko West deposit in Guyana and Founders Metals’ (TSXV: FDR) Antino Gold Project in Suriname.
Stage 1 deliverables are expected by mid-November 2026.
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Why structural geology is the right first move in Suriname
Gold here follows structure, not outcrop
Suriname’s orogenic gold is not distributed randomly across the landscape. It is concentrated along specific geological features: shear zones, fold hinges, and granitoid-greenstone contacts. Understanding where those features run is the prerequisite for everything else.
Two stages of deformation are particularly important across the Shield’s major gold systems:
- D1 shear and fault corridors act as conduits for gold-bearing fluids during the initial mineralising event
- D2 folding events can remobilise and concentrate gold into higher-grade shoots
- At Rosebel, Suriname’s first large-scale mine, mineralisation is localised along shear zones within folded volcanic and sedimentary rocks
The practical problem is that Suriname’s dense forest cover and deep tropical weathering profile, with saprolite and laterite locally exceeding 100 m, mean that physical outcrop is scarce. You cannot walk the ground and map geology the way you can in an arid environment.
Satellite-based structural interpretation solves this. It is a fast, low-cost first filter that allows a company to rank large areas of prospective ground before committing to more expensive field programs such as LiDAR, auger geochemistry and trenching. Rather than spreading field resources thinly across 199 km², CRR will enter the field knowing which structural settings are most likely to host gold. That is capital-efficient exploration sequencing.
Suriname: the regional investment backdrop
Suriname is not a frontier jurisdiction in any speculative sense. Large-scale gold mining has operated continuously there for more than two decades, and the country’s greenstone belts are part of the same Palaeoproterozoic geological province as West Africa’s Birimian greenstones, which host major gold districts across Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso.
The headline production figures tell the story. Rosebel, in production since 2004, reportedly produced 5.65 Moz of gold between 2004 and 2021, and was acquired by Zijin Mining from IAMGOLD for US$360 million in 2023. Merian, operated by Newmont since 2016, commenced with 5.1 Moz of gold reserves. Gold accounted for approximately 79% of Suriname’s exports, around US$2.0 billion, in 2024.
Gonini sits within the Marowijne greenstone belt, approximately 66 km from Newmont’s Merian mine and approximately 88 km from Zijin’s Rosebel mine. It is important to note that mineralisation at those established operations is not indicative of what may be found at Gonini.
Recent exploration success has drawn strategic capital into Suriname from some of the world’s largest gold companies. Gold Fields has invested C$77 million in Founders Metals to hold approximately 19.9%, while La Mancha holds a strategic interest in both Miata Metals and Greenheart Gold.
The table below shows selected companies currently active in Suriname gold:
| Company | Listing | Suriname Project(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Newmont | NYSE: NEM | Merian (75% Newmont / 25% Staatsolie) |
| Zijin Mining | SSE: 601899 | Rosebel |
| Founders Metals | TSXV: FDR | Antino |
| Miata Metals | TSXV: MMET | Sela Creek, Nassau |
| Greenheart Gold | TSXV: GHRT | Tosso Creek, IGAB, Majorodam |
| Critical Resources | ASX: CRR | Gonini, Greenstars (exclusivity) |
Third-party information has not been verified by the Company and is provided for jurisdictional context only.
Tim Wither, Managing Director, Critical Resources
“The Gonini and Greenstars projects give ASX investors a rare opportunity for exposure to the Guiana Shield greenstone belt in Suriname… GexplOre brings structural experience from some of the most significant discoveries in the Shield, including G Mining Ventures’ Oko West in Guyana and Founders Metals’ Antino in Suriname.”
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What comes next: from structural map to drill targets
The near-term pipeline is sequenced clearly, with each step building on the last:
- Receive GexplOre’s Stage 1 priority-area interpretation, expected by mid-November 2026
- Integrate the interpretation with Geology and Mining Department (GMD) regional mapping, artisanal workings and Vendor data to rank targets
- Complete site visits to Gonini and Greenstars in the coming weeks, alongside legal, title and technical due diligence including verification sampling
- Finalise formal acquisition agreements and satisfy conditions precedent
- Design field programs using ranked structural domains, including LiDAR, first-pass auger geochemistry and trenching, subject to Completion
- Use Stage 2 results to screen further opportunities across the Suriname greenstone belt and the wider Guiana Shield
CRR’s structural-first approach means field teams are expected to go straight to the highest-ranked ground once conditions precedent are satisfied, avoiding capital spend on low-priority areas. The regional review adds a second layer of optionality, giving the company a systematic basis to assess further project opportunities across the belt.
Ready to Explore Critical Resources’ Gonini and Greenstars Gold Projects in Suriname?
Critical Resources (ASX: CRR) is deploying a structural-first exploration strategy across 199 km² of granted gold exploitation rights in one of the Guiana Shield’s most prolific greenstone belts, positioned just 66 km from Newmont’s Merian mine. With GexplOre’s specialist interpretation programme now underway, CRR is systematically building a ranked pipeline of drill targets ahead of field programmes.
Discover how CRR plans to capitalise on Suriname’s proven gold endowment by exploring the full project details and investment case on the Critical Resources Discovery Alert profile.