Suriname Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in suriname, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Mining and Minerals
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Large U.S. and Chinese firms mine gold in Suriname.  The Colorado-based U.S. multinational, Newmont, began operations in eastern Suriname in October 2016 and estimated its mine life is 12-14 years.  In 2021, Newmont produced 437,000 ounces of gold.  Suriname’s state-owned oil company, Staatsolie, has a 25 percent stake in this $1 billion joint venture.  Rosebel Gold Mines, a subsidiary of the Canadian company, IAMGOLD, started gold production in 2004. In 2023, Chinese ZIJIN Mining took over Rosebel Gold Mines from Canadian IAM GOLD.  In 2021, Rosebel produced 154,000 ounces of gold.   

Small-scale informal gold mining in the interior has increased rapidly since the 1990s.  Small-scale gold miners generally use hydraulic equipment and illegal mercury in their mining with severe consequences to the environment.  Suriname acceded to the Minamata Convention in August 2018, and the National Institute for Environment and Development in Suriname (NIMOS) completed its Minamata Initial Assessment project (MIA) in 2019.  The government of Suriname has yet to act on the project’s findings or implement the Minamata Convention.  According to Suriname’s Planning Office, small scale goldmining produced 475.820 ounces of gold in 2022.  

The state-owned mining company, Grassalco, began recovering gold from reprocessed ore in 2014.  The company also started exporting gravel to the Caribbean region.  

Dubai-based Kaloti Precious Metals opened a gold refinery in Suriname in February 2014.  The refinery is part of a joint venture with the Government of Suriname and local gold traders.

 

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