A Gold Rush in Venezuela?

A Qatar-based firm is seeking staff for gold mining in Venezuela, becoming one of the few companies known to have taken up the Trump administration on its push to attract investment into the country’s troubled mining sector. In a job listing posted two weeks ago, UCC Holding advertised for an executive director for its “Gold Division” in Caracas. “The role will oversee the full mining value chain, including exploration, greenfield project development, tailings recovery, sediment resource projects, mining operations, processing, and commercial activities,” according to postings on job boards and LinkedIn. A Qatar-based firm is seeking staff for gold mining in Venezuela, becoming one of the few companies known to have taken up the Trump administration on its push to attract investment into the country’s troubled mining sector. In a job listing posted two weeks ago, UCC Holding advertised for an executive director for its “Gold Division” in Caracas. “The role will oversee the full mining value chain, including exploration, greenfield project development, tailings recovery, sediment resource projects, mining operations, processing, and commercial activities,” according to postings on job boards and LinkedIn. The company also posted four jobs in Venezuela related to airport construction, including one titled “Project Controls Manager – UCC Venezuela Airport Project.” One job post describes a “major Airport EPC Construction Project.” EPC stands for engineering, procurement, and construction, a method of construction in which the builder provides a ready-to-use final product. UCC has not previously announced investments in gold or airport construction in Venezuela. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Foreign Policy, nor did Venezuela’s information ministry. The job announcements follow a March visit by U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to Venezuela, where he was accompanied by U.S. mining sector officials representing more than two dozen companies. Burgum later told reporters that Venezuela’s government would provide security guarantees to companies interested in investing in its mining sector, which is plagued by criminal group involvement. Such U.S. engagement has increased in the wake of the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3. Since then, acting President Delcy Rodríguez has ruled the country, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly playing a significant role as well. Venezuela sits on ample gold reserves estimated at 2,343 metric tons, ranking it fifth in the world, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). However, few international companies so far have expressed an interest in gold mining in Venezuela, according to media reports. The Canada-listed mining company Gold Reserve, which had a mining venture in Venezuela that was seized in 2009, has said it will resume mining, and Swiss commodities firm Trafigura has said it will partner with Venezuela’s state gold mining company. Christopher Ecclestone, a mining strategist at the financial advisory firm Hallgarten & Co., said he was not aware of any other foreign companies investing in Venezuelan gold operations. Developing Venezuela’s gold resources will require companies to overcome significant physical, legal, and security challenges, according to the CSIS report. The country’s gold reserves are largely underdeveloped, with 19 of the country’s 24 gold mines currently inactive. Mining is further complicated by the Venezuelan government’s tight grip on the sector following a decision in 2011 to nationalize the industry. Security is also an issue, with much of gold mining in Venezuela now controlled by criminal groups and state groups operating illicitly, according to CSIS. “No respectable Western mining company is going to go into Venezuela in the current situation because it’s going to rebound on them badly at some point,” Ecclestone said. “A puppet regime awarding licenses to anyone is then ripe for having them rescinded the second that the puppet regime is no longer there.” It’s unclear what expertise UCC may have in gold mining. The UCC website lists mining as a business interest, but the company is primarily known for energy projects and construction deals, including a $4 billion deal to invest in the Damascus airport. It is unclear where the company’s airport construction in Venezuela would occur, but it could potentially be aimed at the country’s main airport, which suffered severe damage in two earthquakes in June. UCC’s chairman and president are Moutaz Al-Khayyat and Ramez Al-Khayyat, respectively. The two Syrian-born brothers have also invested in a luxury resort in Albania with Ivanka Trump, U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter, and her husband, Jared Kushner, who also serves as a top diplomatic envoy for Trump. The planned resort has sparked mass protests in Albania, initially over the environmental impact of the development. The Khayyat brothers separately courted U.S. congressional representatives in a bid to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria, according to the New York Times. These sanctions, primarily under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, posed a barrier for various Khayyat investments in the country. The sanctions were eventually lifted last December with the repeal of the Caesar Act. UCC has also invested in Venezuela’s energy industry through a stake in a venture with BP, becoming one of the few companies to answer the Trump administration’s call for energy investments. FP’s Christina Lu contributed to this report.