The mining company Condor Gold assured that it is “unlikely” that its operations in Nicaragua will be affected after the sanctions of the United States Treasury Department on the country’s mining industry. Along these same lines, Caliber Mining, the main mining company in the national territory, affirmed yesterday, October 27, that the US government’s measure will not have “a material impact on its operations.”
“The company confirms that the current opinion of the Board is that the sanctions are unlikely to have any impact on its current operations in Nicaragua. Condor owns 100% of the 587 square kilometer La India Project. It does not have commercial agreements with the Government of Nicaragua or with artisanal miners,” the company said in a public statement on its website.
“Condor fully complies with the laws of Nicaragua and will continue to comply with all relevant laws and regulations, as well as international standards and best practices. Condor’s goal has been to show to the highest Western standards how to carry out gold exploration and complete all technical studies to a bankable feasibility study level and obtain the key permits,” he adds.
Related news: Caliber Mining will continue operating in Nicaragua despite US sanctions
Condor Gold clarifies that the company “has yet to fully understand the impact that the sanctions may have on the company’s future operations in Nicaragua, the initial opinion of the Board is that this is unlikely to directly affect operations, noting that the sanctions appear to be targeted at state-owned companies.”
The company has ten concessions with prospecting permits in its La India mining district, six of which also have permits for geological exploration, according to official company information available on its website. It settled in Santa Cruz de la India, a community in the municipality of Santa Rosa del Peñón, department of León in 2010 to carry out exploration work on the acquired concessions.
The company is British capital. Condor Gold is listed on the London and Canadian stock exchanges, and its main partner is the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member company of the World Bank.
In the last decade, gold has established itself as Nicaragua’s main export product, even displacing traditional products such as beef and coffee. Gold shipments in 2021 amounted to 880.5 million dollars, according to statistics from the Center for Export Procedures (Cetrex). From January to September 2022, 708.7 million dollars have been exported and the year could close in the order of 955.9 million dollars. In 2021, the shipment of that metal from Nicaragua to the United States totaled 744 million dollars. These exports accounted for 79% of all gold shipments from the country during the year.
