Foreign gold miners given 24 hours to stump up real production, face expulsion

Last Updated on Friday, 2 January 2026, 19:39 by Writer

Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali on Friday said foreign gold miners, who have not been declaring all their production to the gold board, have been given 24 hours to do so.

Ali also said errant foreign miners faced the possibility of being thrown out of the country after they face the courts. “All registered dredges with no declaration will be deregistered, and all foreign miners operating illegally in Guyana must be identified for prosecution and expulsion,” he said in a statement after reading the riot act to top decision-makers of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Ministry of Natural Resources.

In particular, some Brazilian miners operating in Guyana have had very low or no declarations, but now they have one day within which to make true declarations. “These miners have 24 hours to comply fully with the laws of Guyana and the requirement to declare to the Guyana Gold Board,” he said.

The President said a number of Chinese miners were also allegedly engaging in such malpractice.

Guyana’s lone large-scale gold mine owner by China’s Zijin Mining Group, has not violated any mine operational laws, according to a senior sector official.

Guyana last year set a target of 500,000 ounces of gold.

According to the statement, the President directed that immediate action be taken to ensure that all gold miners fully comply with their obligations to declare all gold produced in 2025.

Additionally, he said the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association and the Ministry of Natural Resources will be working together to ensure that all miners in every category operating in Guyana are registered with the ministry, and further, that they all have a local bank account.

GGDMA President, Ronaldo Alphonso, said he is urging the mining public to be compliant and to sell their gold to legitimate sources to sustain the mining sector for generations to come.

“It is our responsibility as miners to ensure the sustainability of the industry. We need to make it compliant, and we need to declare gold. Make 2026 the year of compliance and declaration,” Mr Alphonso was quoted as saying in the President’s statement.