{"id":201925,"date":"2026-11-09T21:15:55","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T00:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/?p=201925"},"modified":"2026-11-09T21:18:19","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T00:18:19","slug":"president-simons-all-gold-exports-must-ultimately-go-through-the-national-gold-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/president-simons-all-gold-exports-must-ultimately-go-through-the-national-gold-board\/","title":{"rendered":"President Simons: All gold exports must eventually go through the national Gold Board"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The government is working on the establishment of a national Gold Board that is to play a central role in the trade and export of gold from Suriname. President Jennifer Simons stated during a press conference on the gold sector on Monday, November 9, that the legal preparations for this are at an advanced stage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The <\/span><\/p>\n
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government wants to use this new institution to gain greater control over gold flows, increase state revenues and better regulate gold mining. At the same time, measures are being taken to counter the uncontrolled use and transport of hazardous chemicals.<\/p><\/div>\n

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According to the president, Suriname is receiving national and international support in preparing the Gold Board. Ghana, which already has experience with a similar system, has pledged to guide the process. Simons says she has reviewed the most recent version of the draft bill.<\/p>\n

The Gold Board is not only intended to become a supervisory institution, but also an important link between gold producers, traders and exporters. The intention is for gold miners to be able to sell their gold at a fair price, while the government gains better insight into royalties due and other revenues.<\/p>\n

Existing gold exporters to remain active<\/h2>\n

According to Simons, the establishment of the Gold Board does not mean that existing gold exporters must disappear from the sector. They can continue their activities, but ultimately gold exports must go through the new institution.<\/p>\n

The Gold Board will thus be given a central role in monitoring the gold chain, from the moment the gold is mined and processed until it is exported.\u00a0Options are also being considered to sell part of the gold to the Centrale Bank van Suriname (Central Bank of Suriname) or retain it for national purposes.<\/p>\n

The plans are in line with the previously announced establishment of a Suriname Gold Authority<\/a>. In May 2026, the government already held discussions with experts from Ghana on the application of a similar system in Suriname.<\/p>\n

State misses out on revenues, but bears environmental costs<\/h2>\n

Simons stresses that large sums are being earned in the gold sector, while the state, according to her, receives insufficient revenues. At the same time, the government is confronted with the consequences of environmental pollution and other problems caused by gold mining activities.<\/p>\n

The president distinguishes between persons who hold a concession and people who mine gold without having their own concession. Within these groups, there are various arrangements in which gold miners work on the concessions of others.<\/p>\n

According to the head of state, the sector also has both active and less active permits. The lack of sufficient oversight makes it difficult to determine where gold is mined, which obligations are being met and how much the state actually receives.<\/p>\n

According to Simons, the government must regularly deploy resources to address environmental damage and other consequences of uncontrolled gold mining, while part of the economic proceeds remains beyond the reach of the state treasury.<\/p>\n

Stricter approach to hazardous chemicals<\/h2>\n

According to the president, one of the most urgent problems is the use of chemical substances in gold mining. She points out that certain substances are still being used despite existing bans or restrictions.\u00a0The government therefore does not want to wait until the full reform plan has been completed. Urgent measures have now been taken to gain greater control over the import, distribution and transport of hazardous substances.<\/p>\n

For example, Simons has ordered a temporary halt to the import of the chemical substance Jin Chan. According to her, there was insufficient clarity about the conditions under which the substance was imported, the manner of transport and the persons or companies to whom it was subsequently sold.\u00a0The president believes it must first be established where such substances end up, who may use them and which safety measures apply.<\/p>\n

Key News previously reported on the temporary import halt on November 5<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Transport via rivers also under scrutiny<\/h2>\n

Simons has also expressed concerns about the transport of hazardous chemicals to the interior. According to her, certain substances are transported under circumstances that raise questions about safety.\u00a0She referred, among other things, to the transport of chemical substances via rivers and the use of packaging materials that may not be suitable for hazardous substances.<\/p>\n

The government therefore wants clearer regulations and stricter controls on the manner in which these substances are transported. This includes examining the responsibilities of importers, transporters and users.<\/p>\n

More guidance for gold miners<\/h2>\n

The president stresses that the government does not want to act solely through bans and controls. Gold miners must also be guided in the transition to safer and more efficient mining methods.\u00a0According to her, this requires training, investments and technical support. The government wants to show people currently working with harmful substances which alternatives are available and how they can continue their activities in a less environmentally harmful manner.<\/p>\n

An important principle is that the artisanal gold sector can remain economically active, but within clearly established rules. This must determine in which areas gold mining may take place and which areas must be spared for nature and environmental protection.<\/p>\n

Implementation of reform plan must begin in 2027<\/h2>\n

Simons acknowledges that previous governments have tried to organise the gold sector without achieving the desired result. According to her, a different approach has therefore been chosen, in which a sound plan is first developed.\u00a0A special policy team is working on the further development of the measures. The president speaks of a multi-year process covering, among other things, legislation, financing, oversight, technical support and the organisation of gold mining.<\/p>\n

According to her, implementation of the broader reform plan must begin in 2027.\u00a0The president stresses that the government does not want to act hastily. According to her, previous experience has shown that measures without sufficient preparation do not automatically lead to better organisation.<\/p>\n

At the same time, she states that urgent problems, particularly the risks of hazardous chemicals and environmental pollution, cannot wait for the full implementation of the multi-year plan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Suriname is establishing a national Gold Board to centralise gold exports, increase state revenues and introduce stricter controls on environmental damage and hazardous chemicals in the gold sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":201796,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"no","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_29234516172805655_1445375691985227":"","facebook_29234516172805655_1158244960706604":"","facebook_29234516172805655_108923581283702":"","facebook_29234516172805655_1309923202201307":"","facebook_29234516172805655_1093738170500407":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[{"account":"facebook_29234516172805655_1309923202201307","service":"facebook","timestamp":1794269883,"status":"success"}],"rop_publish_now_status":"done","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16342],"tags":[26676,25358,16291,16353,20032,16292],"class_list":["post-201925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","tag-gold-board-suriname","tag-gold-sector-2","tag-key-news","tag-monitoring","tag-nieuws","tag-suriname"],"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,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-11-09-at-10.59.11-AM.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201925","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\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201925"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201925\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":201967,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201925\/revisions\/201967"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}