Gold, bauxite power non-oil expert boom

Feb 02, 2026 News

…as earnings top US$1.7 billion in 2026

Kaieteur News – Guyana’s non-oil export earnings surged in 2025, driven largely by strong performances in the gold and bauxite sectors, with export revenues climbing to US$1.6 billion and US$144.1 million, respectively.

According to information from Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance Dr. Ashni Singh, growth in non-oil exports was fueled by increased production volumes and favourable global market prices, with gold exports rising by 63.4 per cent and bauxite exports by 52 per cent.

This publication reported that Guyana’s gold sector posted strong growth in 2025, recording an 11.6 per cent increase in declared production, with total output climbing to 484,321 ounces—an increase of 50,254 ounces over the previous year.

For 2026, the government is now targeting an even bigger haul, projecting declarations of 510,450 ounces as mining activity accelerates across all operator categories.

While declarations from licensed dealerships declined by 21.5 per cent to 121,883 ounces, declarations from the country’s lone large-scale operator, Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd, operating through its subsidiary Aurora Gold Mine (AGM) rose by 15.5 per cent to 167,005 ounces.

As it relates to declarations to the Guyana Gold Board (GGB), there was an increase of 45.6 per cent to 195,432 ounces.

Mid-year figures from the Bank of Guyana showed that 195,486 ounces of gold were exported out of the 208,756.8 ounces declared during the first half of 2025. At that time, gold export receipts amounted to US$556.3 million, reflecting a 36.1 per cent increase over the same period in 2024. The central bank attributed the performance to higher export volumes and a sharp rise in global prices, with the average export price per ounce increasing to US$2,845.95.

With four Canadian companies having major gold projects in the pipeline, which together hold an estimated 14.6 million ounces of gold, and those projects expected to come onstream before the end of the decade, President Irfaan Ali late last year said he hopes the future entails less gold leaving Guyana’s shore unrefined.

Meanwhile, the bauxite industry recorded robust growth in 2025, expanding by an estimated 53.4 per cent with total production reaching 3.9 million tonnes.

The expansion was led by the ramp-up of metallurgical grade bauxite production at the MAZ project in Region 10, where output from the larger producer grew by 138.4 per cent to nearly 3.7 million tonnes. Production from the smaller operator also increased, rising from 173,970 tonnes in 2024 to 253,875 tonnes in 2025.

Dr. Singh had stated that despite operational and weather-related challenges, the sector remained resilient. “The bauxite industry is showing extremely strong prospects. Government’s policies and actions have resulted in tremendous growth in production and employment in the sector, which has been supported by continued investment from foreign operators,” the minister said last week.

He had also noted that the industry now employs more than 1,000 persons directly, compared with 665 in 2020, and announced cabinet’s approval for the restart of bauxite operations along the Berbice River. The operations in the area had ceased in 2020 under the former APNU+AFC administration.

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Canadian, companies, Dr. Ashni Singh, Guyana’s, larger producer, President Irfaan Ali, Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd

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