Nicaragua hands gold concession to sister firm of US-sanctioned Chinese miner
Nicaragua has granted a Chinese-owned company linked to one sanctioned by Washington the right to prospect and dig for gold across 262 sq km (101 sq miles) of rainforest, about a quarter the size of Hong Kong. The 25-year concession over the block, named Jade, went to Linze Excelente Mineria, a company that appeared in Nicaragua’s mining registry only last year. The block is in a corner of the…
Nicaragua has awarded a Chinese mining company the rights to explore and extract gold from 262 square kilometers of rainforest. The concession, known as Jade, was granted to Linze Excelente Mineria, a firm established only last year. This area is where gold was first discovered in Nicaragua back in 1880. Linze Excelente is linked to a sister company of a Chinese miner sanctioned by the US government.
The US Treasury accused the company of receiving large tracts of land from Nicaragua and exporting over $25 million worth of gold back to the United States in the first half of 2025. The US has sanctioned the family and their business network since a 2018 incident that resulted in hundreds of protester deaths. Nicaragua has responded to these sanctions by aligning itself with Beijing.
The company, which has no official designation, may still process payments and sell its gold to American buyers. The Jade block was granted after the sanctions were in place, despite the company's application being made in June. Linze Excelente will pay Nicaragua 25 cents per hectare, which is less than the price of 50 grams of gold.
Written by urgent.news from Reuters Business via SCMP's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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