(www.biznow.gy) Mahdia Gold Corporation has begun production at its Omai project in Guyana and the company is actively seeking additional financing to continue its operations.

In a press release Friday, the company said the initial gold recovery unit produced approximately 59 ounces in March which was sold through the Guyana Gold Board. The company’s gold mining u nit faced several challenges in May due to inclement weather conditions which resulted in flooding.

“During the flood, first concerns were for the safety of Roraima’s employees. No employees were hurt, or in any danger of being hurt. Most stationary equipment was temporarily flooded, but not permanently damaged. The sluices, that were due to be washed on May 6th, were overtopped by the river flood and much of the sluice’s trapped gold was lost to the water current,” Mahdia said.

The unit is now back in operation and the company expects to update production numbers by the end of this fiscal quarter.

The company said it is currently seeking all forms of financing. “Management is in discussions with financial firms in Toronto, New York, London, England, and Zurich, Switzerland. In addition to these efforts, the Company is in preliminary joint venture discussions with several other gold companies. While management is guardedly optimistic, there is no guarantee that any of these current efforts will provide the much needed finance to move forward with modern gold recovery technology and away from sluices as a primary recovery unit.”

Financing the Company is becoming more critical, Mahdia said, as payments to Guyana will be due within coming months. “To date, the government has been very accommodating by working with Mahdia’s management in restructuring payments to a more manageable schedule for the Omai property. As some payment is coming due within the month, and given the value of this asset to Mahdia, we will continue to seek assistance as needed. All statutory fees and licenses are fully paid and up to date.”