Chinese mining companies are expanding at a rather remarkable pace in Nicaragua.
In September, the Nicaraguan government approved Linze Excelente Minería, a company with Chinese capital, for a 25-year concession to mine the “Jade” region, covering an area of approximately 26,200 hectares. This region is located in Bonanza, a traditional gold-producing area in Nicaragua. It is worth noting that this company has personnel connections with Nicaraguá Xinxin Linze Minería Group, which was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in April this year. Both companies have identical legal representatives listed in their business registrations, and the lawyers who signed the new mining rights documents also worked for the sanctioned company.
This means that the United States has just tried to cut off one of the funding chains of Nicaragua’s gold industry, and new mining rights have continued to be granted.
What truly deserves attention is the scale behind it.
According to the “Mineral Rights Map” compiled by the environmental organization Fundación del Río based on Nicaraguan official documents, as of mid-year this year, 22 companies with Chinese capital have obtained rights to explore and exploit 84 mining areas, covering approximately 1.277 million hectares. This represents about 10% of Nicaragua’s national territory. Additionally, 62 of these mining areas overlap with land belonging to indigenous or African communities. The “10%” mentioned here does not actually refer to Chinese companies acquiring a tenth of Nicaragua, but rather obtaining the rights to explore and exploit mineral resources in those areas.
And all of this happened almost immediately after the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Nepal.
In December 2021, Nicaragua resumed diplomatic relations with China. Two years later, in December 2023, the relationship between the two countries was upgraded to a strategic partnership. Since then, Chinese capital has entered the local mining industry at a significantly faster pace.
Nicaragua is willing to quickly release mining rights for a significant reason – gold is extremely important right now.
According to data from the Central Bank of Nicaragua, the country's mining export revenue will reach $2.009 billion in 2025. Of this amount, exports of unprocessed gold alone will amount to $1.971 billion. This increase is due to the significant rise in gold prices, making gold one of the most important export commodities for Nicaragua.
This also explains why the United States has targeted the gold industry with sanctions.
On April 16th this year, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on five individuals and seven companies, including mining companies such as Xinxin Linze, Thomas Metal, and Brother Metal. The U.S. Department of the Treasury stated that the Nicaraguan government used the gold industry to obtain foreign currency and maintain its political and economic networks. Specifically, Xinxin Linze was identified by the U.S. authorities as having exported over $25 million in gold to the United States in just the first half of 2025. It is important to note that these claims regarding the use of funds and political networks are allegations made by the U.S. government.
Yet, judging by the results of mineral rights allocation, sanctions have at least not stopped China's capital from continuing to enter upstream resources.
The reasons are not complicated. The most effective areas for U.S. sanctions are those involving dollar settlements, the U.S. market, and the international financial system. However, a gold mine will not disappear just because a company is added to the sanctions list. As long as the Nicaraguan government is still willing to grant mining rights, companies can obtain equipment, financing, and alternative sales channels, allowing mining investments to continue through new corporate entities.
This is also what makes the case of Nicaragua truly worth observing.
In the past, one of the important tools for the United States to influence Central America was markets, the US dollar, and financial sanctions. However, when China entered the picture, it offered not just another batch of investors, but also a potential alternative to capital, equipment, and trade networks.
So, behind the fact that “Chinese mining companies have obtained mining rights for nearly 10% of Nicaragua’s territory”, the bigger change isn’t about who has mined more gold mines. Instead, in Central America, which is so close to the United States, a country that has been continuously sanctioned by Washington is increasingly turning its resource development systems over to Chinese capital.
Perhaps this is what Washington really needs to worry about.
