Gold Reserve Ltd said it has taken part in high-level talks in Venezuela alongside American officials and other mining representatives, marking a potential step towards reopening the country to foreign mining investment.

The Bermudian-based company confirmed that its representatives joined a United States mining delegation led by Doug Burgum, US Secretary of the Interior, and David Copley of the White House National Security Council, for meetings in Caracas with Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s interim President, and members of her administration. The discussions focused on the conditions needed to resume mining activity and attract foreign capital.

“We attended these important initial meetings in Venezuela yesterday and we are very impressed with the progress and support of both the US administration and president Rodríguez’s administration,” said Paul Rivett, vice-chairman of Gold Reserve.

“The speed and depth to which the US and Venezuelan administrations are working in partnership together is inspiring and will no doubt benefit the resiliency of our hemisphere.”

The company said the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has granted a 30-day licence allowing certain companies, including Gold Reserve, to negotiate with Venezuela, giving the miner a limited window to explore potential agreements related to its projects in the country.

The meetings come days after Gold Reserve announced it had raised $75 million in a private placement, well above the roughly $50 million it initially targeted. The raise signals strong investor support for its plan to return to Venezuela after more than a decade.

The company agreed to place 24,999,999 common shares at $3 each. Management described the financing as “significantly oversubscribed”, with demand exceeding what the company was willing to sell.

Mr Rivett said at the time that the proceeds would support Gold Reserve’s efforts to re-engage with Venezuela, including resuming on-site activities, studying the Siembra Minera project and exploring partnerships.

The financing also included strong insider participation, with three company insiders collectively buying nearly $17.25 million of shares.

Gold Reserve’s most valuable asset remains the Brisas gold-copper project in Bolívar state, which was expropriated by the Venezuelan government in 2008 during the presidency of Hugo Chávez.

After years of arbitration and negotiations, Nicolás Maduro’s government revoked the company’s joint venture rights, leaving Gold Reserve effectively shut out of its core assets for more than a decade.

Political developments last year — including the removal of Mr Maduro by the United States and the emergence of an interim government under Ms Rodríguez — have renewed hopes among investors that Venezuela could reopen parts of its economy to foreign companies.

Gold Reserve, originally incorporated in Canada in 1998 before continuing to Bermuda in 2024, has said it intends to pursue a return to the country in a “safe and legally compliant manner” if conditions allow.