Guatemala’s extractive sector represented 2% of GDP for 2014 and 2015, according to the latest EITI Report.

The main commodity is silver, which accounts for more than half of the value of mining production in 2015. Between 2013 and 2014, four new mining projects commenced production, including Minera San Rafael which main product is silver. However, the production of gold has been decreasing in the last years, mainly because of the depleting of Marlin, the largest gold mine in Guatemala owned by the Canadian firm Goldcorp, which finally closed in 2017. Click here to see a Report by the company on the process of closure and in response to the On Common Ground (OCG) 2010 Human Rights Assessment (HRA).

Guatemala is the 12th largest producer of silver in the world and the 47rd largest producer of gold, according to the International Organizing Committee for the World Mining Congress.

In the last years, the mining activity in Guatemala has faced serious social conflicts, some resulting in judicial claims and bills submitted in the National Congress. In June 2017, the Supreme Court suspended the license to operate to one of the largest mines, San Rafael. As of 2016, the EITI Report listed a number of bills aiming to reform the extractive sector, including a moratorium in mining and hydroelectrical operations. 

There is a limited oil production. In 2015, the country produced less than 1 million barrel according to the latest EITI Report.

The sector is overseen by the Ministry of Energy and Mines. 

In 2016, 95% of the mining production corresponded to metalic minerals and 5% to non-metalic. The largest commodity were silver (56%) and gold (27%).