Trump-Brokered Deal Sends Up to 1,000 Kg of Venezuelan Gold to U.S. Refineries

Venezuela's state-owned mining company has signed a deal to supply as much as 1,000 kilograms of gold destined for U.S. refineries, according to a new report.

The development marks one of the first mineral transactions between the countries since the United States moved to reshape Venezuela's energy and resource sector after the capture of Nicolás Maduro.

The contract requires Venezuela's state mining firm, Minerven, to deliver between 650 and 1,000 kilograms of gold ore bars to commodities trader Trafigura, one source told Axios. The bars will contain roughly 98% gold content and will be transported to U.S. refineries under a separate arrangement with the U.S. government.

At current market prices, a kilogram of gold is valued at roughly $166,000, putting the potential value of the shipment in the hundreds of millions of dollars depending on the final quantity delivered, as per the report.

The agreement was facilitated in part by U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who arrived in Caracas on Wednesday to discuss oil and mineral opportunities with Venezuelan officials and international mining companies. Burgum told a group of executives gathered in the Venezuelan capital that the U.S. wants to help unlock the country's natural resources.

"You all understand how rich the resources are," Burgum told mining and commodities, as Bloomberg reports. "Working together, we can create the right economic conditions for capital and technology and talent to flow in partnership."

Executives from companies including Trafigura, Peabody Energy Corp. and Lundin Mining attended the meeting alongside U.S. and Venezuelan officials. U.S. Ambassador Laura Dogu told the group that Venezuela's interim government is open to development, saying, "Venezuela is open."

President Donald Trump praised the expanding economic ties in a post on Truth Social, writing that "the oil is beginning to flow" and describing cooperation between the two governments as "a very nice thing to see."

Rodríguez responded to Trump's message on X, thanking president Trump "for his government's kind willingness to work jointly on an agenda that strengthens bilateral cooperation for the benefit of the peoples of the United States and Venezuela"

Officials have framed the initiative as part of a broader effort to diversify global supply chains for energy and critical minerals. Burgum said recent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East underscore the importance of securing alternative sources. "Having diversification of supply chains matters," he said.

Venezuela holds large reserves of oil as well as significant deposits of gold, coal and other minerals that U.S. officials hope to help develop with private investment.