Trafigura said to strike deal to buy Venezuela gold in US pact

The Trump administration has struck a deal that would see Venezuela’s state mining company sell as much as 1,000 kilograms of gold to commodities trader Trafigura, according to people familiar with the matter.

Venezuelan-owned Minerven will sell 650 kilograms to 1,000 kilograms of gold dore bars to the trading house, the people said. The gold will then be sold on to refineries in the US, they said.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is issuing a license to enable the sale, according to the people. The deal comes as part of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s visit to Caracas this week as the US seeks to revive oil and mineral production in the country and step up coordination with Venezuela’s interim government after the January capture of former President Nicolas Maduro.

Final details are still being hammered out, the people said. Other similar deals are expected to follow, one person said.

For Trafigura, the purchase marks another step in its deeper push into precious metals, which have been on a record-breaking multiyear rally. Rival trading houses have also been seeking to push into the space, spying an opportunity to finance gold production in developing economies mostly shunned by banks who fear compliance risks.

A spokesperson for Trafigura declined to comment on the transaction.

Axios first reported the sale on Wednesday. The report came after a Wednesday meeting between Burgum and Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez to discuss mining reforms and mineral extraction. Rodriguez told Burgum, along with mining executives and metals traders at the gathering, that her country would move “Trump speed” to help them unlock Venezuela’s mineral wealth.

Bullion gained even more importance as a source of hard currency for Venezuela last year as the haven asset hit repeated record highs and the US government ratcheted up restrictions on its oil exports. The nation’s central bank sold nearly six tons of bullion in the second half, mainly in December when the US began seizing its oil tankers.

Gold mining in the South American nation picked up after the 2016 creation of a southern area for large-scale mineral extraction called the Orinoco Mining Arc. The measure aimed to offset oil declines, although much of its production is informal or illicit, linked to armed groups and dirty practices. While the government promotes gold for revenue and reserves, transparency remains limited.

A chunk of Venezuela’s current gold position is held at the Bank of England. However, the country cannot access these funds because the UK has not recognized its government since 2019. That position has remained unchanged following Maduro’s capture by US forces.

(By Jennifer A. Dlouhy, James Attwood and Jack Ryan)