The government of Nicaragua granted a 25-year concession to a Chinese company to explore and exploit minerals on the Caribbean coast, according to a resolution published this Monday.
The concession allows the company and Mines.
The concession area covers 36.6 hectares, according to the text published in the official newspaper La Gaceta, which does not specify which minerals the firm will exploit.
The Chinese company, which requested the concession in November 2023, “must begin exploration activities in any part of the mining lot, within a period of no more than four (4) years.” […]extendable for one more year,” says the resolution, without mentioning amounts related to the operation.
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China and Nicaragua have expanded their trade and cooperation relations since they reestablished diplomatic relations in 2021, after Managua cut ties with Taiwan, an island considered by Beijing as part of its territory.
Local media indicated that Xinxin Linze is a subsidiary of the mining giant Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry Company Limited, which has interests in nickel and copper, as well as other non-ferrous metals.
Last February, official media said that this company began the construction of a camp in Liberia, in the municipality of Mulukukú.
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Mining activity in the Central American country has registered growth in recent years, especially gold, which last year generated more than 1 billion dollars, making it the main export product.
Nicaragua has granted more than 170 concessions for metallic mining and 127 for non-metallic mining.
Last year, the government of President Daniel Ortega granted two mining concessions over 15,400 hectares in the Northern Caribbean Autonomous Region, to the also Chinese Zhong Fu Development, a subsidiary of Zhong Fu Invest Group.
