(Kaieteur News) – Guyana’s gold declarations reached 233,000 ounces by mid-2026, roughly 25,000 ounces ahead of the same period last year, according to Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat. At an approximate gold price of US$4,100 per ounce, those declarations are valued at about US$955 million — a figure that will move with the market price of gold.

Speaking on the Starting Point Podcast, Bharrat said the sector met its budgeted half-year declaration target despite challenging weather conditions earlier in the year and intensified government enforcement against illegal mining.

“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 — about 25,000 ounces more than last year for the same period ending in June,” he said, adding that declarations have since climbed closer to 240,000 ounces. It is, he noted, the first time in eight or nine years that the country’s half-year gold declaration target has been met.