-by Jarryl Bryan

A movement is growing across economic sectors, where more emphasis is being put on value-added production rather than just raw exports.

It is no different in the gold sector, with one industry veteran projecting that local jewellerywill enjoy an international resurgence in the coming years following the government’s launch of El Dorado Reimagined a few months ago.

”People like gold. Gold has a value. And has traditionally had a value. And the idea is to associate Guyana with gold,” Dominic Gaskin, who previously served as Minister of Business said. Gaskin now lends his jewellery expertise as Technical Consultant in the Natural Resources Ministry.

In an interview on the Starting Point Podcast, Gaskin compared the growing buzz around the gold sector, with the early years of Guyana’s oil and gas industry.

”We’ll also see a greater acceptance and awareness of Guyana as a competitive gold and jewelry source. I think we’ll also hear more of a buzz when it comes to gold in Guyana. Pretty much what is happening in the oil and gas sector,” he said.

Gaskin, who himself has operated a gold jewellery store for years, acknowledged that interest in the gold jewellery sector is unlikely to explode on the same scale.

But Guyana is helped by the fact that it has been a prodigious exporter of raw gold for decades, which served the country’s largest foreign currency earner before oil. 

“So I think that is what is also one of the things you will see over the next few years. Where people coming to Guyana automatically want a piece of Guyanese gold, in whatever form they can get it. And ideally, legitimately acquired gold,” he explained.

El Dorado Reimagined was launched on May 22, 2026, by President Dr. Irfaan Ali, during Guyana’s 60th Independence Anniversary celebrations.