Guyana’s crackdown on illegal mining has resulted in a growing trail of arrests, prosecutions, shutdowns and equipment seizures in 2026, with Brazilians, Chinese and Venezuelans among those detained or arrested during enforcement operations across gold-producing regions.
Authorities have not published consolidated figure showing how many people have been arrested for illegal mining so far this year.
But the enforcement record shows 69 people had already been prosecuted under Guyana's Mining Laws by the end of March, while dozens more were arrested or detained in subsequent operations, including a large number of foreign nationals.
The Ministry of Natural Resources reported that 44 people had been arrested, charged and brought before the courts for illegal mining by January 22.
Nine more were subsequently arrested, charged and brought before the courts during January, taking the total to 53.
The cases involved mining without a licence or permit, licensed dredges being operated on properties without permission and the use of unregistered or unlicensed dredges. The offenders pleaded guilty and were fined.
In March, another 16 miners were charged under the Mining Act, including nine accused of operating without a permit or licence, two accused of operating unregistered dredges and five accused of having licensed dredges on properties without permission.
All 16 pleaded guilty and were fined.
That takes the publicly documented number of people prosecuted under the mining crackdown to 69 by the end of March.
But the numbers grew considerably after that.
In June, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and the Guyana Police Force shut down six illegal mining operations in the Mazaruni Mining District.
The six sites were operating inside a quarry area. Thirty-eight people were arrested.
Mining equipment and machinery were also seized, and surveillance was established to prevent the operations from returning.
Among foreign nationals, Brazilians have featured repeatedly in Guyana's illegal-mining investigations.
In March, six Brazilian nationals and one Venezuelan were found working illegally at two mining operations along the Puruni River.
The operation uncovered breaches including mining without a licence or permit, operating without permission, working within the river-bank buffer zone and failing to produce production and labour records.
The seven foreign nationals were taken to the Bartica Police Station for processing, while an excavator, dredge and other equipment were placed in State possession. The ministry said charges were instituted against the landowners.
Days later, the government announced the arrest of five Brazilian nationals for illegal entry and illegal mining.
Four pleaded guilty and were ordered to leave Guyana within 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Then in June, three more Brazilians were arrested during an operation targeting illegal gold mining at Arakaka Backdam in the North West District.
Immigration checks found that the three had overstayed their permitted period in Guyana. They were charged with overstay offences; two pleaded guilty and were fined and ordered deported, while the third pleaded not guilty and was remanded.
The pattern continued in August.
Authorities detained six non-nationals, including five Brazilians and one Chinese national, after discovering an unauthorised underground mining operation being conducted through a shaft without the required approval.
The six were placed in police custody while investigations continued.
Chinese nationals have also featured in the crackdown.
Five Chinese nationals were arrested at the Rock Creek Mining Area in Puruni on June 16 after police said they were found engaged in illegal mining activities.
Checks of their travel documents found that all five had overstayed their permitted time in Guyana.
They were subsequently charged and processed to appear before the courts.
A person can be arrested during an illegal-mining operation, but the eventual court charge may be for an immigration violation rather than illegal mining itself.
The foreign-national presence became even more apparent during a September operation in the Potaro Mining District.
On September 10, the Ministry of Natural Resources reported that five non-nationals, including Venezuelans, had been detained after an illegal mining operation was discovered.
Two days later, the government reported that the search area had been expanded and four additional non-nationals were detained, bringing the number detained in that operation to nine.
Authorities also found excavators, trucks, dredges, generators, water pumps and metal detectors concealed in the surrounding jungle.
The government has not published the nationality of every person in that nine-person group.
The crackdown continued on September 29 when GGMC enforcement officers found another illegal mining operation along the Siparuni River.
Three miners were detained, including two non-nationals.
Authorities said machinery had been placed on the riverbank and a dredge directed into the bank to extract minerals, causing damage to the riverbank.
The dredge and associated equipment, including a motor vehicle, were seized and the matter handed over to police for further investigation.
The nationalities of the two non-nationals have not been released.
The enforcement campaign extends beyond arrests.
Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat said in September that more than 100 non-nationals had been blacklisted as Guyana tightened controls over the mining sector.
But the government has made clear that this is a broader regulatory category.
The blacklist includes people connected to illegal mining as well as cases where production was poorly declared or not declared.
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