Global Markets
Home›Global Markets›Trade & Tariffs›Nicaragua awards 25-year gold concession to Chinese-li…
Nicaragua awards 25-year gold concession to Chinese-linked firm
The concession covers 262 sq km of rainforest and is tied to a company the US Treasury blacklisted in April after shipments of more than US$25 million in gold in 2025.
Nicaragua has granted a Chinese-owned company the right to prospect and mine for gold across 262 sq km (101 sq miles) of rainforest under a 25-year concession named Jade, according to SCMP Economy.
The concession was awarded to Linze Excelente Mineria, a firm that appeared in Nicaragua’s mining registry only last year, and filings list Lijun Dong as a legal representative for Linze Excelente and for Nicaragua Xinxin Linze Mineria Group, which the United States blacklisted in April.
The US Treasury sanctioned Xinxin Linze in April, saying it received tens of thousands of acres from the Nicaraguan government and shipped more than US$25 million in gold to the United States in the first half of 2025.
SCMP Economy also links the deal to Daniel Ortega’s government, which has faced US sanctions and has increasingly turned to Beijing, including breaking with Taiwan in 2021 and signing a free-trade agreement in 2024.
Latest closeGold $4,431.70 ▲1.9%