Jul 13, 2026
2 min read
Guyana's gold declarations climbed to nearly 240,000 ounces in the first half of 2026, meeting the government's budgeted target for the first time in nine years, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat said.
Bharrat made the disclosure during an appearance on The Starting Point Podcast, saying declarations for the first six months of the year surpassed the corresponding period in 2025 by around 25,000 ounces.
"We have reached our budgeted target of gold declarations for the half-year period," he said.
Bharrat noted that the performance was significant given the challenging conditions the mining sector faced early in the year, including severe drought during the first quarter that affected operations across several mining districts.
He attributed the results to intensified efforts to curb illegal activity in the sector, saying authorities had taken a firm stance against non-compliance, including refusing to renew permits for operators whose declarations fell significantly below expected levels.
Several foreign nationals involved in mining activities were blacklisted and barred from returning to Guyana after recording low or non-existent declarations.
"We have been on a serious campaign since then, with a zero-tolerance approach to illegal activities in the mining sector," he said.
He credited the government's enforcement measures with improving compliance and increasing official gold declarations.
"I think because of this, we are seeing the results now," he said, adding that 2026 marks the first time in nine years Guyana has met its budgeted half-year gold declaration target.
