While Condor Gold and Caliber Mining issued separate statements informing that their operations in Nicaragua would not be affected by the new package of sanctions announced by the President of the United States, Joseph Biden, the shares of four mining companies (including them) continue without recovering the value that they had in the stock market before knowing the announcement
On the morning of Monday the 24th, President Biden announced that he was amending Executive Order 13851, issued by his predecessor Donald Trump in November 2018. The changes open the possibility of sanctioning investments, exploitation and exports of Nicaraguan gold, without ruling out the option of including other sectors of the Nicaraguan economy, “as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with Secretary of State.”
Incidentally, it also includes in the list of sanctions Lenín Cerna, a trusted man of Daniel Ortega, as well as the General Directorate of Mines (DGM), attached to the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), which has the potential effect of hindering or limiting the operations of mining companies in the country.
A private sector source who agreed to speak with CONFIDENTIAL Asking not to be identified, he said that they are waiting for what may happen, due to “the impact of these measures on exports because, apparently, the sanctions have more precise guidelines. This deepens business uncertainty, ratifies the caution when investing in Nicaragua, and maintains the expectation that investment levels will continue to be limited.”
Condor Gold: we have no arrangements with the Government
The first of the companies to react to Washington’s decision was Caliber Mining Corp, which on Tuesday the 25th reported from VancouverCanada, which had “communicated with the United States Department of the Treasury to ensure full compliance with these provisions”, and reaffirmed its commitment to “continue to comply with all relevant international laws and restrictions”.
This Thursday 27, the company communicated that after discussing it with his advisers, and reviewing his plans of operations, he confirmed that the sanctions “do not have a material impact on his operations in Nicaragua. complexes [La] freedom and [Mina El] Limón are operating as planned”, maintaining its plan to produce between 220,000 and 235,000 ounces of gold this year.
For its part, Condor Gold said from London that, after reviewing its current and future operations, and consulting with its advisors, the company’s board concluded that “it is unlikely” that executive order 13851, or the sanctions imposed on the DGM, “will have any impact on its operations present in Nicaragua.
The English capital company pointed out that it owns 100% of the La India Mine, 587 square kilometers, and that “it has no commercial agreements with the Government of Nicaragua or with artisanal miners.”
“While the company has yet to fully understand the impact that the sanctions may have on its future operations in Nicaragua, the Board’s initial view is that this is unlikely to directly affect operations…because the sanctions appear to be targeted at state-owned companies. ”, specified the statement.
In reality, the silence of the rest of the companies, and the confirmation of ‘normality’ by Caliber Mining and Condor Gold, does not correspond to the performance of both, plus Mineros and Mako Mining, which are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and in the London one.
Mako and Calibers are the ones who lose the most
This is the stock market performance of four companies listed in London, Bogotá and Toronto. All the values have been converted to dollars, according to the price of this Thursday, October 27, although the indicated percentages refer to the variation in the original currency: Canadian dollars for those that operate in Toronto, and pence for those that trade in London. .
The most affected of all is precisely the smallest of the companies analyzed.
Mako Mining, which operates the San Albino Mine in Nueva Segovia, began trading on Monday with its shares trading at USD 13.3 cents per unit. After Monday’s announcement, the price remained down for two days, falling as low as $8.5 cents (down 36.1% at the time), before bouncing back on Thursday to hit $9.6 cents, leaving 27.8% of its value in those four days.
The second most affected -percentage speaking- is Caliber Mining, which started operations on Monday, with its shares trading at USD 72.5 cents, and in the following days it fell 43.9% to USD 40.7 cents, before seeing how its price improved. on Thursday, which closed at USD 50.3 cents, which implies a drop of 30.6% in four days of operations.
Trading on the London Stock Exchange was not kinder to Condor Gold, which saw its shares, which were trading at USD 35.7 cents on Tuesday, fall to USD 26.7 cents, and although that same day they had a rebound that took them to exceed USD 30.2 cents, it continued to fall in the following two days to close this Thursday at USD 26.9 cents, rounding off a drop of 24.6%.
The least affected was Colombia’s Mineros. After starting at USD 62.2 cents last Monday, its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange had an erratic behavior, falling to USD 54.8 cents on Wednesday, showing an 8.1% rebound this Thursday, to close operations at USD 59.2 cents, which is still 5.0% lower than the price with which it opened the week.
