Nicaraguan Gold Exports Increase Through October 2023
Nicaraguan gold exports increased through October 2023, according to official sources indicating a rise in production.
Nicaraguan gold exports reached a total of 952 million dollars between January and October 2023. This amount, surpassing the 927.4 million dollars for the entire year of 2022, sets a new record for this sector.
Raw gold, with 952 million dollars in foreign sales, was Nicaragua’s primary export product.
It outperformed the rest of the nation’s overall production during the first 10 months of 2023, according to data released by the Central Bank.
Nicaraguan gold exports could exceed 1 billion dollars in 2023, surpassing the 927.4 million dollars sold last year.
Nicaragua has granted 299 mining concessions, 172 for metallic mining and 127 for non-metallic mining, according to information from the Ministry of Energy and Mines, which records seven mining industry plants operating in the Central American country.
According to investigative reporting from Connectas and Artículo 66, Nicaragua exports more raw gold than it produces.
“The Central Bank of Nicaragua reports that, under the Sandinista administration, between 2009 and 2022, 23.9 tons of gold have been sent to the international market that do not match national production.“
Their investigation presents two hypotheses about Nicaraguan gold exports: one is that it is a product of illegal artisanal mining, or alternatively, that this gold arrives in Nicaragua from Colombia or Venezuela and is then sold as Nicaraguan gold.
Last week, the environmentalist organization Fundación del Río reported to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) the alleged link in Nicaragua between illegal and industrial mining during gold and mercury extraction, in addition to the negative impact on protected areas and indigenous territories.
Calibre Mining, a Canadian publicly traded company present in Nicaragua since 2009, where it creates 3,500 jobs, was the largest exporter in 2022, according to official figures.
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