El Salvador adds $50M in gold to reserves: implications for mine project teams
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan

First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
El Salvador’s central bank has bought 9,298 troy ounces of gold for about $50 million, lifting national reserves to 67,403 ounces valued at roughly $350 million at current prices. The move, welcomed by President Nayib Bukele as “buying the dip” after a sharp intraday price fall, follows a similar 13,999‑ounce purchase in September 2025, the first since 1990. Alongside the bullion build-up, Arkham data show El Salvador now holds 7,547 Bitcoin, worth about $620 million, reinforcing its unconventional reserve mix of gold, Bitcoin and US dollars.
Technical Brief
- Banco Central de Reserva explicitly frames gold as a “universally strategic reserve asset” for long-term stability.
- Central bank links bullion accumulation to protection against “structural shifts in global markets”, i.e. currency and rate regimes.
- President Nayib Bukele characterises the latest buy as “we just bought the other dip” on X.
- Government confirms additional Bitcoin purchases alongside gold, maintaining a multi‑asset reserve strategy.
- El Salvador remains the only jurisdiction where Bitcoin is legal tender alongside the US dollar.
- For mining project developers, sovereign accumulation of bullion and Bitcoin may influence local fiscal and royalty policy design.
Our Take
Within our 822 Mining stories, very few central bank items involve both gold and bitcoin, so El Salvador’s dual reserve strategy stands out compared with more conventional gold-only reserve accumulation in other jurisdictions.
The Banco Central de Reserva’s move to lift gold holdings alongside sizeable bitcoin reserves effectively increases its exposure to commodity and crypto price volatility, which could influence sovereign risk perceptions and borrowing costs for El Salvador–linked infrastructure and mining projects in Central America.
Given that El Salvador sits in a region (Mexico and Central America) where most gold coverage in our database concerns private miners, state-level reserve buying may indirectly support local sentiment for exploration and development, even though it does not translate into direct offtake or project finance at this stage.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
Related Articles
Related Industries & Products
Mining
Geotechnical software solutions for mining operations including CMRR analysis, hydrogeological testing, and data management.
Construction
Quality control software for construction companies with material testing, batch tracking, and compliance management.
CMRR-io
Streamline coal mine roof stability assessments with our cloud-based CMRR software featuring automated calculations, multi-scenario analysis, and collaborative workflows.
HYDROGEO-io
Comprehensive hydrogeological testing platform for managing, analysing, and reporting on packer tests, lugeon values, and hydraulic conductivity assessments.
GEODB-io
Centralised geotechnical data management solution for storing, accessing, and analysing all your site investigation and material testing data.