XAU Resources signs option deal for Matthews Ridge gold project
The deal gives XAU the chance to take full ownership of a gold project at Matthews Ridge, but it must pay and spend over four years.
XAU Resources has signed an option deal that could give it full ownership of the Matthews Ridge Gold Project. An option agreement gives a company the right to buy an asset on agreed terms.
Kaieteur News reported on 19 October 2026 that XAU entered into the agreement on 18 August with Consolidated Northwest Resources Incorporated. A record published on tradingview.com on 20 August 2026 described the same agreement.
The deal carries costs. Over the first four-year option period, XAU must make non-refundable payments of US$2,010,000 to Consolidated Northwest Resources Incorporated. Non-refundable means XAU cannot get that money back. It must also spend at least US$5,000,000 on qualifying exploration work.
Kaieteur News reported that the property covers 15 medium-scale mining permits, on more than 15,000 acres, or 60.97 square kilometres. It said the land sits roughly three kilometres south of Matthews Ridge town. The paper said XAU's chief executive sees the project as part of a plan to expand the company's gold land position in Guyana.
Diálogo Américas reported that Matthews Ridge is known mainly for manganese mining, which dates back to the 1960s. It said problems between a Chinese-owned operator and the local community began after 2016.
Stabroek News reported that Guyana's declared gold output was roughly flat at about 430,000 ounces a year in 2023 and 2024. It said declarations then rose 10.95 per cent in the first half of 2025, reaching 208,760.1 ounces, up from 188,160.1 ounces at 30 June the year before.
A company release published on Yahoo Finance (company release) said that, as of XAU's corporate update, the option agreement was still subject to stock exchange acceptance. That means the stock exchange must approve it. The release also said the project is about 32 km north of XAU's Noseno Project.
The story was first reported by Kaieteur News.