“Nicaragua grants three more mining concessions to Chinese companies”, 17 October 2025.

The Government of Nicaragua has granted three new open-pit mining concessions to two Chinese companies, covering a total area of 21,303.15 hectares in the departments of Nueva Segovia and Boaco, according to an announcement published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta on Friday.

The company Three Gold Coins Company S.A. received two permits to exploit metallic and non-metallic minerals: one for the El Parquer site, covering 6,513.15 hectares in Wiwilí, Nueva Segovia, and another for the La Virgen site, spanning 1,428.94 hectares in the municipality of Quilalí, also in Nueva Segovia. In addition, the company Little Stone Mine S.A. obtained the third concession, for the El Triunfo site, covering 13,361.06 hectares and located in Boaco.

These new authorisations add to nearly 30 concessions granted to Chinese companies over the past two years, covering approximately 600,000 hectares, including areas within the Río San Juan Biosphere Reserve, according to official sources.

The environmental organisation Fundación del Río, led by denationalised activist Amaru Ruiz, denounced the concessions as violations of the Law on the Communal Property Regime of Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Communities. The NGO explained that the repeal of the regulation on protected areas—approved on 6 May alongside the new Law on Environmental Conservation Areas and Sustainable Development—has left key natural zones without protection.

The foundation also warned of the expansion of illegal artisanal mining in the Río San Juan Reserve, and cautioned that these concessions could be legalising extractive activities in conservation areas...