Gold Reserve Ltd.
IMPORTANT: Gold Reserve Ltd. does not currently operate any mine. Its historic Venezuelan gold-copper deposits -- Brisas (~10Moz gold resource historically reported) and Siembra Minera (also holds copper/silver) -- were seized/revoked by the Venezuelan government (Brisas ~2008-09; Siembra Minera mineral rights revoked Mar 2022), and Gold Reserve has pursued international arbitration for both: a ~US$1.1 billion award (from a 2014 ICSID ruling) was confirmed by a Portuguese court in Feb 2025, and a fresh ICSID claim exceeding US$7 billion over Siembra Minera was filed Mar 2025. Since the Jan 2026 capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro by US forces and the transition to a new administration under President Rodriguez, Venezuela enacted a new mining law (16 Apr 2026), and Gold Reserve signed a binding term sheet in May 2026 granting Augusta Capital Corporation an earn-in right to 50% of its Siembra Minera interest to try to reactivate the project under the new legal framework; the project is not yet de-risked or operating, so no reserve, NPV or mine-life figures are shown for either Venezuelan deposit. Gold Reserve's one uncontested, wholly-owned current asset is the early-stage LMS Gold exploration property near Delta Junction, Alaska (limited annual field activity, no resource estimate to date). The Board has also approved a spin-out of American Heralds Mining Corporation, a US-domiciled entity to advance separate Western Hemisphere projects. Paul Rivett is Executive Vice-Chair & CEO; David P. Onzay is CFO. Domiciled in Pembroke, Bermuda.
Notable vs. Peers
- Jurisdiction risk score of 2/10 is meaningfully riskier than the peer average of 7.8/10.
- Financials score of 7.8/10 is stronger than the peer average of 5.3/10.
- Trading within 6% of its 52-week high — strong recent price momentum.
Lifecycle Milestones
Jurisdiction (40%)2/10
Extraordinary, still-unresolved political risk. Gold Reserve's Brisas gold-copper deposit was seized by the Venezuelan government (~2008-09, Chavez era) and its Siembra Minera mineral rights were revoked by Venezuela's Ministry of Mines in Mar 2022 -- both are the subject of major international arbitration, not current operating assets. Since Jan 2026, Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro was captured by US forces and a new administration under President Rodriguez took over; Venezuela enacted a new mining law (16 Apr 2026) intended to attract foreign investment, and Gold Reserve is actively pursuing reactivation (see description). This is a genuine, real, still-developing political transition -- not a resolved, de-risked jurisdiction -- so this score reflects the deposits' actual multi-decade expropriation/dispute history, not a bet on the transition succeeding.
Infrastructure (40%)No verified figure
Researched with nothing found: no source we could cite confirms or rules out an existing mill, road access, grid power, or tailings facility at Siembra Minera Project (Brisas-Cristinas), Bolivar State, Venezuela (checked Sep 26, 2026; recheck due Mar 25, 2027). Counts at a neutral 5/10 until one does.
Nearby producing mine (20%)Not yet researched
No producing mine within 50 km in our reference list (nearest listed: Rosebel (Zijin Mining Group), 709 km). That list doesn't cover every mining district yet, so a longer distance isn't scored as remote.
Acquisition Susceptibility
A relative ranking of how closely this company matches the profile of juniors that have actually been acquired — not a probability, and not a reason to buy. Acquisitions are rare: only a few dozen significant deals happen a year across a universe of thousands of juniors, so even a high score here describes a long shot. The strongest signal in the research, a producer that already owns part of the company, is scored from its disclosed strategic shareholders. A producer that is a joint-venture or earn-in partner on the project, rather than a shareholder, isn't captured yet.
How this score is built
- Disclosed pending dealSub-score: Not scored
A disclosed corporate action (not an acquisition or merger)
A corporate action of this kind says nothing about takeover susceptibility, so it isn't scored.
Weight 26.25% - Producer's strategic stakeSub-score: Not scored
No producer holds a disclosed stake on file (holder register researched) See holders
Not scored: most juniors that do get bought had no prior toehold, so a missing stake says little either way.
Weight 25% - Distance to a producing mineSub-score:0/10
Nearest producing mine: Rosebel (Zijin Mining Group), 709 km
10 next to a producing mine, 8 at 20 km, 5 at 50 km, 0 beyond 200 km.
Weight 22.5% · 46% here - Lifecycle stageSub-score:1/10
Stage: Grassroots Exploration
Feasibility and permitting score 10, where deals cluster, and production 5.5; earlier stages score less, down to 1 at grassroots.
Weight 15% · 31% here - JurisdictionSub-score:2/10
Venezuela: jurisdiction score 2/10
Our jurisdiction score, used as is: higher means lower political and permitting risk.
Weight 6.75% · 14% here - CommoditySub-score:10/10
Primary commodity: Gold
Gold 10, copper 8, silver 5, nickel and uranium 4, others 2: most majors' deals are for gold.
Weight 4.5% · 9% here
Weight is each input's share of the full score. “Here” is its share of this company's score: inputs that aren't scored are left out and the rest re-weighted, never counted as zero.
Your Rankings
Management Team
Executive Vice-Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Gold Reserve Ltd., leading the company's pursuit of both international arbitration against Venezuela and active reactivation efforts (the May 2026 Augusta Capital earn-in on Siembra Minera) following Venezuela's Jan 2026 political transition. Career: President, Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (2013-2020, a major multinational insurance and investment-management company, incl. earlier VP/COO roles at its Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel Ltd. subsidiary), retiring voluntarily after 17 years with the group; began his legal career at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, later Shearman & Sterling. Post-Fairfax, oversaw Tevir Investments Inc. (a family office) before joining Gold Reserve. BSc Economics, University of Toronto; Master's in Industrial Relations and law degree, Queen's University.
Chief Financial Officer of Gold Reserve Ltd., with the organization since 1993; transitioned to the CFO role in Jan 2022.
Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer of Gold Reserve Ltd. Brings over 30 years of operational experience building, scaling and transforming businesses across family, private equity and public ownership.
Chief Operating Officer of Gold Reserve Ltd., effective 8 Jan 2026. Over 10 years' experience in investment banking, capital markets and private equity across North American and Asian markets, including transaction origination/execution, operational oversight and portfolio management.
Chief Legal Officer of Gold Reserve Ltd., effective 8 Jan 2026. A corporate lawyer with experience in mergers and acquisitions, securities, financing and corporate governance matters.
Insiders, Investors & Smart Money
Notable shareholders and insiders whose involvement is worth knowing about, plus what we're seeing from institutional/large-investor activity.
Gold Reserve Ltd.'s shareholder register shows no strategic or specialist holder. The company has redomiciled to Bermuda and is now functionally a CITGO-litigation vehicle following its Venezuela ICSID arbitration award, rather than an active gold exploration company.
No notable insiders tracked for this miner yet.
Reports, Presentations & Documents
Gold Reserve does not operate a mine: its Brisas and Siembra Minera gold-copper deposits in Venezuela were taken by the Venezuelan government, Brisas around 2008-09 and Siembra Minera's mineral rights in March 2022, and it has pursued international arbitration, including a roughly US$1.1B award confirmed by a Portuguese court in February 2025 and a new ICSID claim of more than US$7B over Siembra Minera filed in March 2025. After Venezuela enacted a new mining law in April 2026, Gold Reserve signed a binding term sheet in May 2026 giving Augusta Capital the right to earn 50% of its Siembra Minera interest by funding up to US$200M of project spending over four years, as part of an effort to reactivate the project. It is also appealing a Delaware court's approval of a rival US$5.9B bid for PDV Holding, the parent of CITGO, over its own rejected US$7.9B bid, and the appeal was unresolved at the last check. Its only uncontested wholly owned asset is the early-stage LMS Gold exploration property in Alaska, which has no resource estimate, and no current resource or economic study is presented for the Venezuelan deposits.