{"id":182673,"date":"2026-08-26T08:34:45","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T11:34:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/?p=182673&preview=true&preview_id=182673"},"modified":"2026-08-26T09:23:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T12:23:15","slug":"submitted-newmont-zijin-and-the-rain-of-us-dollars-from-the-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/submitted-newmont-zijin-and-the-rain-of-us-dollars-from-the-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"Submitted: Newmont, Zijin and the rain of US dollars from the sea"},"content":{"rendered":"

O<\/span>n 18 August 2026, Newmont (SurGold N.V.) published information through the media about its contribution to Suriname\u2019s economy. Zijin (RGM N.V.) had done so earlier, on 23 July 2026. The year 2013 was the last time that society could learn from the annual reports of the Central Bank of Suriname (CBvS<\/a>) what the gold sector\u2019s contribution to the state treasury was.\u00a0 As the author states, based on reporting in Parbode, the CBvS still denied in 2023 that it received royalties on behalf of the state, until exporters spoke about this in the media. The 2024 Financial Annual Plan eventually provided insight, in a table, into the gold sector\u2019s contribution to the state treasury.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

While society was promised a \u2018golden Christmas\u2019 in 2013 and, according to the author, the gold price rose from USD 350 in 2003 to more than USD 5,000 in 2025, the publications by the two major gold companies would now show that society has been seriously disadvantaged by policymakers and the gold sector over the past 22 years.<\/p>\n

At various times, journalists have asked former President Chandrikapersad Santokhi, the CBvS and the Minister of Finance how much revenue the state received from the gold sector and why this information was not published.<\/p>\n

In response, the president stated that the revenues had been pledged by the Bouterse government. The CBvS referred requests for information to the Minister of Finance, while the minister asked for the questions to be submitted in writing.<\/p>\n

The agreements with the major companies state that the government and Staatsolie, as a \u2018shareholder\u2019, have the right to have their accounts checked for accuracy by experts. According to the author, this has not happened once in the past 22 years.<\/p>\n

Zijin<\/h2>\n

Information published by Zijin shows that the company achieved production of 306,535 troy ounces, or 9,579 kilograms of gold, in 2025.\u00a0The company is said to have spent USD 630 million in Suriname that year, including USD 363 million on taxes, royalties and dividends to Staatsolie. In addition, USD 267 million is said to have been spent on local procurement and wages.\u00a0According to the author, this information is insufficiently specified to recalculate the amounts and is therefore difficult to verify for accuracy.<\/p>\n

Newmont<\/h2>\n

According to its publication, Newmont contributed USD 634 million to the Surinamese economy. However, the information considered most important by the author, namely production in 2025, was not disclosed.\u00a0According to the author, that production can be recalculated on the basis of a payment of USD 48 million, representing 6.25 percent of gross production.\u00a0At an average price of USD 3,224 per troy ounce, with Dawson Gold cited as the source, this would amount to 238,213 troy ounces or 7,444.1 kilograms of gold.<\/p>\n

Newmont further states that it spent USD 345 million on suppliers and contractors.\u00a0Newmont generates its own energy using fuel and also requires it for transport. According to the author, this means that a substantial portion of the USD 345 million goes towards fuel.\u00a0This would involve imported oil on which, according to the author, Newmont pays no import duties and \u2018government take\u2019. The author therefore argues that it is incorrect to list this entire expenditure as a contribution to the Surinamese economy.\"\"<\/p>\n

Dividend and corporate income tax<\/h2>\n

Newmont paid USD 84 million in dividends, or 25 percent of net profit, to Staatsolie.<\/p>\n

According to the calculation in the submitted article, Newmont itself would have retained 75 percent, or USD 252 million, of the net profit. Net profit would therefore amount to:<\/p>\n

USD 84 million + USD 252 million = USD 336 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

This amount would have been calculated after deduction of the statutory corporate income tax of 36 percent.<\/p>\n

When the 36 percent corporate income tax is included, gross profit according to the author\u2019s calculation amounts to:<\/p>\n

USD 336 million \u00f7 64% \u00d7 100% = USD 525 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

The author notes that Newmont did not mention this amount in its publication.<\/p>\n

Newmont further states that it paid USD 79 million in income tax and payroll tax.<\/p>\n

The author points out that payroll tax is ultimately borne by employees and that the company withholds and remits this tax to the Tax Department on behalf of employees. According to him, it was not separately disclosed how much of the USD 79 million consists of payroll tax.<\/p>\n

According to the calculation in the submitted article, corporate income tax of 36 percent on a gross profit of USD 525 million would amount to approximately USD 189 million. This is considerably more than the stated USD 79 million, which according to the author also includes payroll tax.<\/p>\n

Calculation of payroll tax<\/h2>\n

According to the author, the 2024 Financial Annual Plan states on page 179 that the state received a total of USD 33 million in payroll tax from the gold sector.<\/p>\n

Assuming that 40 percent of that came from Newmont employees, this would amount to USD 13.2 million.<\/p>\n

Based on that assumption, approximately USD 65.8 million of the USD 79 million reported by Newmont would consist of corporate income tax and\/or income tax:<\/p>\n

USD 79 million \u2013 USD 13.2 million = USD 65.8 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

The author argues that the USD 13.2 million in payroll tax was wrongly listed as a cost to Newmont and that this could ultimately affect the calculation of corporate income tax.<\/p>\n

Wages<\/h2>\n

Newmont<\/a> stated in its publication that it paid USD 78 million in wages.<\/p>\n

With a workforce of 1,227 employees, this would, according to the calculation in the submitted article and based on thirteen monthly salaries, amount to an average of USD 4,639.20 per employee per month.<\/p>\n

The author argues that this amount is, in his view, far from reality.<\/p>\n

Newmont\u2019s total costs and revenues<\/h2>\n

According to the author, Newmont wrongly listed payroll tax as its own cost. He also argues that dividends to Staatsolie should not be regarded as company costs, since dividends are distributed to shareholders after corporate income tax has been paid.<\/p>\n

On that basis, the author calculates the actual expenditure as follows:<\/p>\n

USD 634 million \u2013 USD 13.2 million \u2013 USD 84 million = USD 536.8 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Any adjustment to labour costs is not included.<\/p>\n

When dividend payments, corporate income tax and the calculated profit are added, the author arrives at:<\/p>\n

USD 536.8 million + USD 84 million + USD 252 million + USD 189 million = USD 1.0618 billion<\/strong><\/p>\n

At a gold price of USD 3,224 per troy ounce, this calculation would correspond to production of:<\/p>\n

USD 1.0618 billion \u00f7 USD 3,224 = 329,342.43 troy ounces<\/strong>, or approximately 10,292 kilograms of gold<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

However, according to the author, production recalculated on the basis of USD 48 million in royalties at 6.25 percent amounts to 7,444 kilograms.<\/p>\n

This results in a difference of:<\/p>\n

10,292 kilograms \u2013 7,444 kilograms = 2,848 kilograms<\/strong><\/p>\n

The author subsequently arrives at a difference of approximately 91,648 troy ounces, which according to his calculation has a value of about USD 294 million at a gold price of USD 3,224 per troy ounce.<\/p>\n

According to him, production recalculated from the royalties received and production calculated on the basis of revenues should in principle be consistent with each other.<\/p>\n

The rains of US dollars<\/h2>\n

According to the author, attention has been drawn for more than sixteen years to what he sees as serious disadvantage to Surinamese society caused by the gold sector, without successive governments taking sufficient measures.<\/p>\n

Even the CBvS is said to have reported in its annual reports that higher production and lower exports were declared, which according to the author increases production costs and results in the state receiving less corporate income tax.<\/p>\n

In 2022, IAMGOLD sold RGM N.V. to Zijin for USD 360 million. According to the author, this took place without the state first checking whether IAMGOLD had fully met its tax obligations, although the government would have had the right to do so.<\/p>\n

The author also states that the company had imported capital goods tax-free and had already depreciated them from the gold revenues.<\/p>\n

Due to government policy over the past 22 years, society has not experienced the \u2018golden Christmas\u2019 promised in 2013, according to the author.<\/p>\n

On the contrary, he states, Suriname has ended up in a crisis with debt exceeding USD 5 billion. When the debts of state-owned companies are also included, this amount would rise to more than USD 10 billion, according to him.<\/p>\n

If the same policy continues, the author argues, the clouds forming above Block 52 and Block 58, which should bring \u2018rains of US dollars\u2019 over Suriname after 2028, may ultimately be drawn elsewhere.<\/p>\n

This is a submitted article by Kenneth Sukul<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Newmont and Zijin publish their economic contribution to Suriname, but analyses show major discrepancies and possible underreporting of gold production and state revenues over the past 22 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":166312,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"4","show_post_related":"1"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":""},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[18427],"tags":[452,215,17183,19882,19880,19881],"class_list":["post-182673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-submitted-articles","tag-cbvs","tag-newmont","tag-parbode","tag-staatskast","tag-us-dollars","tag-zijing"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182673"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":182721,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182673\/revisions\/182721"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}