Mining declarations up by 25,000 ounces in 1st half of 2026 – Bharrat

The Guyana Government’s efforts to streamline the mining industry and crack down on illegal activities have yielded results, with gold declarations increasing by 25,000 ounces during the first six months of this year.

Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat made this revelation during an appearance on the recent episode of the Starting Point podcast.

“I’m happy to say that in 2026, we have reached our budgeted target of gold declaration for the half-year period… I think it’s 233,000 ounces. We have reached that target, which is about 25,000 ounces more than last year from the same period,” the Minister indicated.

According to Bharrat, the industry had not recorded such outstanding performance since 2016, when large companies such as the Guyana Gold Fields and Troy Resources were actively operating here. Since then, there had been a dip in declaration until 2024, when a slight increase was recorded compared to the previous year. In 2025, there was an increase of some 52,000 ounces in production for the entire year.

The Natural Resources Minister noted that, “…last year, ending of June, we were 25,000 below what we have now. Right now, we’re close to 240,000 ounces that has been declared over this period of time. Mind you, the weather conditions [were] not favourable to us.”

Nevertheless, Minister Bharrat attributed this mid-year increase in gold declarations to the Government’s serious crackdown, which heightened earlier this year, on miners and mining companies that did no or limited declarations last year.

“We had caused not to renew some of their licences and permits,” the Natural Resources Minister stated. “We had to blacklist some of the non-nationals, whose declarations were very low or non-existent. They cannot come back in the country and engage in the mining sector. And we have been on a serious campaign since then – a zero-tolerance approach to illegal activities in the mining sector.”

Only last month, the Natural Resources Ministry seized more than 15 pieces of mining equipment, including engines, excavators, and pumps, after errant miners in the North-West District (NWD) area in Region One (Barima-Waini) failed to adhere to proper mining practices.

This was followed by the Ministry, through the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), shutting down six illegal operations within the Mazaruni Mining District in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) in June. The six illegal mining sites were operating within a quarry area, leading to the arrest of 38 people. Several pieces of equipment and machinery used to support the unlawful activities were also seized.

According to Bharrat, those who want to recover the seized equipment would have to pay a hefty fine.

“I can tell you, the fine is not an easy fine… If we find you’re mining illegally, we will seize your equipment because you’re engaging in illegal activities.  You want it back, you will pay a fine. We will quantify the amount of gold that you produce. And based on that, you will be fined. And worse yet, if you have not been selling the gold to a [legal] buyer, you may face even further prosecution. So, we have been on this serious campaign. And I think because of this, we are seeing the results now… For the first time in about nine years, we have actually reached our half-year budgeted target,” the Natural Resources Minister stated.

In fact, backed by significant investments in the mining sector and strengthened Government efforts to curb unlawful practices, the Guyana Government expects gold declarations to rise to 510,450 ounces this year.