Latest update March 30th, 2026 5:45 PM
Gold roars back! …Aurora+ small miners drive 10.9% surge
— as sector on track for biggest comeback in years – mid-year report
(Kaieteur News) – Guyana’s gold sector recorded a 10.9% growth in the first six months of 2025, driven by higher declarations from Aurora Gold Mines (AGM) the country’s only large-scale gold producer as well as small and medium-scale miners.
This was disclosed in the 2025 Mid-Year Report, which was tabled in the National Assembly on Monday during the opening of the 13th Parliament.
An aerial view of the Aurora Gold Mine located in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni)
According to the report, “The gold industry grew by an estimated 10.9 percent in the first half of 2025, with higher declarations from the single large producer and the small- and medium-scale miners. The sector’s growth target for 2025 remains unchanged at 17.2 percent.”
In the broader extractive sector, the mining and quarrying industry is estimated to have expanded by 5.9% in the first half of the year, spurred by increased output across all subsectors bauxite, gold, other mining, and oil and gas.
The report stated that the bauxite industry grew by an estimated 133.1% in the first half of 2025 and is now projected to record an overall 65.9% growth for the year. The “other mining and quarrying” category which includes sand, stone, diamonds, and manganese grew by 24.2% during the same period, largely due to heightened construction activity, and is expected to rise by 21.2% by year-end.
Meanwhile, the petroleum subsector recorded a 5.5% increase, with 115.7 million barrels of oil produced in the first half of the year. The sector is projected to grow by 15.6% for 2025.
In August, this publication reported that Chinese state-owned Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd., operating in Guyana through its subsidiary AGM Inc., earned RMB1.4789 billion (over US$200 million) from the Aurora Gold Mine during the first half of 2025. The company’s interim report valued the mine’s total assets at RMB4.5287 billion and disclosed that it produced 2,039 kilograms (over 71,000 ounces) of gold between January and June.
Zijin stated that Aurora’s output contributed to the 41,186 kilograms of gold produced across its global operations, marking a 16% increase over the same period last year. The company also noted that a technological upgrade was completed at the Guyana operation.
The Aurora Gold Project, located in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), is wholly owned by AGM and remains Guyana’s only large-scale gold mine currently in production. It holds estimated reserves of 184 tonnes (approximately six million ounces) of gold.
The Cuyuni-Mazaruni district also hosts several other large-scale developments, including the 5.4 million-ounce Toroparu Gold Project, the 5.4 million-ounce Oko West Gold Project, and the 2.1 million-ounce Omai Gold Project, all controlled by Canadian companies.
Guyana’s gold industry had experienced a steady decline in declarations between 2019 and 2023, falling by approximately 209,000 troy ounces, according to the Bank of Guyana’s annual reports. However, 2024 saw a modest increase of 1,954 ounces—from 432,113 ounces in 2023 to 434,067 ounces in 2024. Despite the marginal rise in output, gold revenue for 2024 climbed to US$989.9 million, a US$180 million increase over the previous year, largely due to higher global gold prices.
For 2025, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat said the government is prioritising efforts to improve recovery rates among small and medium-scale miners, whose current recovery levels range between 40% and 45%. He noted that AGM has achieved recovery rates as high as 95%.
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