Venezuela Gold: Where It Is, Output and Who Mines It
· Updated
Yes, Venezuela has gold, and it is the country’s most valuable mineral. Almost all of it is in Bolívar state, in the El Callao district and the rest of the Orinoco Mining Arc. The government says the country produced 9.5 metric tons in 2025 and projects 30% more for 2026. There is far more in the ground: CSIS estimates about 75 million ounces (roughly 2,343 tons) across 24 identified mines.
Since April 2026, Venezuela’s Organic Mining Law lets private companies, including foreign ones, mine gold under a concession or license, with the central bank holding first right to buy. Since March 2026, a U.S. Treasury license has allowed Venezuelan gold to be sold into the United States, under conditions.
Where is Venezuela’s gold?
In the Guiana Shield, south of the Orinoco River. The U.S. Geological Survey yearbook lists these mines and plants in Bolívar state:
| Mine or plant | Location | Estimated capacity (USGS) |
|---|---|---|
| Tomi mine | El Callao | 2,000 kg of gold a year |
| Isidora mine | Bolívar | 2,500 kg a year |
| Colombia mine | Bolívar | 2,000 kg a year |
| Sosa Méndez mine | Bolívar | 1,700 kg a year |
| San Rafael-El Placer mine | Bolívar | 200 kg a year |
| El Choco mines and plant | El Callao | no figure |
| Manuel Carlos Piar complex | Matanzas, Bolívar | 240 kg a year (refining) |
| Capitán Eduardo Vera, Caratal and El Perú plants | Bolívar | no figure |
These are capacities, not actual output, and the USGS marks them as estimates. There is also gold in Amazonas state, but mining has been banned there since Decree 269 of 1989.
How much gold does Venezuela produce?
- 9.5 tons in 2025, according to acting President Delcy Rodríguez on January 19, 2026. She said public-sector output grew 81% and private-sector output 34.8%, with no further breakdown.
- 2026 projection: 30% more, about 12 tons.
- Global context: according to CSIS, Venezuela produced 0.84% of the world’s gold in 2024.
Caveat: the USGS publishes no gold output for Venezuela because it considers the available information “inadequate to make reliable estimates.” Part of the output is informal or illegal and never reaches the central bank.
How much gold does Venezuela have?
Two figures often get mixed up:
- Geological resources (gold in the ground): about 75 million ounces in 24 mines, according to CSIS, based on Capital IQ data. About 30% of it is in the Siembra Minera project, which is still at the prefeasibility stage.
- Central bank reserves (gold bars): the often-quoted figure of about 161 tons is gold held by the Central Bank of Venezuela, not gold in the mines. CSIS makes the same point.
Who mines and sells it?
- The state: in March 2026 the Corporación Venezolana de Minería (CVM) absorbed Minerven, the state gold company, along with all its assets.
- Private companies: the 2026 law allows large-scale mining by concession, small and medium mining by license, and joint ventures. Artisanal mining is reserved for licensed Venezuelan nationals.
- First deals:
- In March 2026, reports said Minerven would sell 650 to 1,000 kg of doré (semi-refined gold) to the trading house Trafigura, bound for U.S. refineries. Trafigura declined to comment, and no final contract has been published.
- On September 16, 2026, Heeney Capital signed a concession with the Republic and CVM to develop a gold project in El Callao, with up to $1 billion in investment according to the company.
Can U.S. companies buy Venezuelan gold?
Yes, since March 2026, under conditions. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a general license allowing Venezuelan gold to be exported, transported and sold to the U.S. Trading it with Cuba, North Korea, Iran or Russia is prohibited, and payments to the Venezuelan state go into Treasury-controlled accounts. The current version is General License 51C, dated August 27, 2026. Working inside Venezuelan mines also requires GL 54B. Check the license text and get legal advice before any transaction.
Unresolved problems
- Armed groups: a SOS Orinoco report published on September 28, 2026 documents the expansion of 26 organized armed groups across southern mining regions between 2022 and 2026.
- Mercury: according to studies cited by Inside Climate News, up to 90% of Indigenous women tested in the Orinoco Mining Arc have dangerous mercury levels. Mercury is used to separate gold in artisanal mining.
What is still unknown
- How much gold is really mined, including informal output. Only government figures exist.
- How much reaches the central bank and how much is legally exported.
- The terms of the Trafigura and Heeney Capital contracts, which are not public.
To see gold alongside Venezuela’s other minerals, read Venezuela Minerals: List, Locations and the Most Valuable.