Gold, minerals and GL 51

General License 51 authorizes the export of Venezuelan gold to the U.S. as the Mining Law advances in its second reading. Trafigura signed an agreement with Minerven for up to 1,000 kilograms of doré. The mining sector is replicating the oil pattern—but with distinct risks.

Venezuela's mining sector is replicating the oil sector's opening pattern—but with an eight-week lag and one critical difference: GL 51 only authorizes gold exports, not upstream mining operations. The Mining Law opens the legal framework for private investment with international arbitration. Unlike oil, where infrastructure existed, industrial mining in Venezuela is virtually nonexistent. Investors entering now capture position in a pre-institutional sector. Those waiting for the second wave of licenses will enter with lower risk and greater regulatory clarity.