Venezuela's Mining Opening: OFAC Reopens Gold to Western Trade — With the Cash in the U.S. Treasury
OFAC's June 10 amendment wave rewrote seven Venezuela licenses. The two mining ones —GL 51B and 54A— authorize trading and servicing Venezuelan gold via CVG Minerven, but route payment through the U.S. Treasury, bar new joint ventures and exclude China.
On June 10, 2026, OFAC replaced seven Venezuela general licenses in a single move. Two of them —GL 51B and GL 54A— are the mining piece: they let an established U.S. entity trade Venezuelan minerals, gold included, and supply the entire mining chain through state miner CVG Minerven. But the cash is routed into a U.S. Treasury account, forming new joint ventures is barred, and China is excluded. The constraint is no longer the license; it is the contract architecture and the traceability of the payment.
What changed on June 10
OFAC did not issue a standalone license: it rewrote seven at once —oil trade (46C), diluents (47A), goods and services to the energy sector (48B), operations of the Annex oil companies (50B), PdVSA transactions (52A), and the two mining licenses (51B and 54A)— and published two frequently asked questions, 1259 and 1260. All share the same template, which reveals a deliberate decision: to standardize the form in which doing business in Venezuela is authorized, not merely what is authorized.
For the mining investor the read is direct. Access to Venezuelan gold and minerals —which began opening to the Western circuit with the March 27 licenses— is reaffirmed and detailed in this version, inside a common architecture that applies to the barrel and the ounce alike.
The two mining pieces
GL 51B authorizes the commercial side: an established U.S. entity may export, buy, store, transport and sell Venezuelan-origin minerals —gold included— and even process and refine them, in transactions involving the Government of Venezuela and CVG Minerven. GL 54A authorizes the operational side: the supply from the U.S. of goods, technology, software and services to explore, extract, process, refine and produce minerals on Venezuelan soil, plus maintenance and repair of equipment.
One boundary is worth reading twice: GL 54A does not authorize forming new joint ventures or other entities in Venezuela to mine or produce minerals. Serving the existing operation is allowed; creating new ownership structures with the state is not. And there is an asymmetry that defines the business: trading gold is authorized, but gold as a means of payment is prohibited. You buy and sell the metal; you do not settle with it.
The common architecture: U.S. law, cash in the Treasury, no China
The seven licenses rest on four identical conditions. First, only an established U.S. entity qualifies: organized under U.S. law on or before January 29, 2025. Second, every contract must be governed by the law of a U.S. jurisdiction and resolve disputes in the U.S., U.K., France or Singapore. Third, payments to blocked persons are deposited into the Foreign Government Deposit Funds, the Treasury-held account created by Executive Order 14373 of January 2026. Fourth, counterparties from Russia, Iran, North Korea and Cuba are excluded —and China entirely in the mining-services license (54A) and through control or joint venture in the trade license (51B).
FAQ 1260 qualifies a point the operator needs to grasp: requiring U.S. law in the contract does not mean U.S. law governs every aspect of the activity. Physical operations in Venezuela remain subject to Venezuelan sovereign regulation —permits, concessions, labor and environmental rules. The license orders the contractual relationship and the flow of money; it does not replace the local regulatory framework.
Three structural reads
Bringing gold and crude to Western counterparties no longer hinges on obtaining a license, but on being able to document that the payment lands in the Treasury account. The condition is the same for the barrel and the ounce: whoever cannot prove the payment routing does not operate, even if the activity is authorized on paper.
GL 54A reactivates the supplier and refiner chain but bars the creation of new mining joint ventures. Washington opens the operation and keeps structural co-investment with the state closed. Anyone seeking a new equity stake in Venezuelan mining will still need a specific license, negotiated case by case.
Excluding China —total in mining services— forces a redraw of the supply and buyer chain that in recent years gravitated East. Venezuelan metal seeking this door must show a chain of custody free of Chinese counterparties. Origin traceability becomes the most valuable compliance asset.
Implications by actor
| Actor | Main implication |
|---|---|
| Gold / minerals trader | GL 51B opens the purchase and resale of Venezuelan mineral, including processing and refining outside the excluded jurisdictions. Settlement flows through the Treasury and gold cannot serve as a means of payment. |
| Mining-services supplier | GL 54A reactivates equipment, engineering, maintenance and repair contracts with Minerven. It cannot form a new joint venture to produce. |
| Western refiner | May process Venezuelan mineral if the chain of custody excludes Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and China. Origin due diligence is the operational bottleneck. |
| Operator with a Chinese partner | Categorically excluded in mining services; blocked via control or joint venture in trade. Corporate structure defines eligibility before activity does. |
| Compliance officer | Re-document contracts to U.S. law and an allied forum, implement the Foreign Government Deposit Funds deposit, and trace the gold chain of custody to its origin. |
| Venezuelan-debt investor | The wave does not touch the debt: GL 52A preserves the E.O. 13808 prohibition on bonds. Debt settlement remains outside this door. |
What to watch
| Milestone | Read if it happens |
|---|---|
| Publication of the seven GLs in the Federal Register | Confirms the definitive text and may bring technical amendments and annexes. |
| Composition of the GL 50B Annex | Defines which oil companies are enabled; being on the list or not decides access. |
| First formal gold exports via Minerven to Western refiners | Signals the Treasury channel is operable in practice, not only on paper. |
| Specific-license requests for new mining joint ventures | Measures the investment appetite GL 54A deliberately leaves out. |
| Upcoming FAQs on gold chain of custody | Would clarify the diligence standard that is today the main compliance risk. |
Primary sources ▾
- OFAC — Venezuela General Licenses 51B and 54A (June 10, 2026)
- OFAC — Venezuela General Licenses 46C, 47A, 48B, 50B and 52A (June 10, 2026)
- OFAC — Frequently Asked Questions 1259 and 1260 (June 10, 2026)
- The White House — Executive Order 14373 (January 9, 2026)
- OFAC — Venezuela General Licenses 51, 54 and 55 (March 27, 2026)
This analysis is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or investment advice. The scope of any OFAC general license is determined by its official text; compliance decisions should be validated with specialized counsel.