Data for US-Nicaragua Policy Español

Nicaragua’s Gold Sector

This page examines trends in Nicaragua’s gold sector, with an eye towards its relevance for US policy.

By Gil Guerra · Updated September 2026 · Methodology

The US has three significant policy tools at its disposal to target Nicaraguan gold, but so far it has only elected to use one.

OFAC designated seven gold-sector firms on April 16, 2026. Five of these firms were reportedly backed by Chinese capital. C
OFAC has designated mining-sector entities under EO 13851 in four actions (June 2022, October 2022, May 2024 and April 2026). The Chinese-capital attribution comes from Confidencial and El País; Treasury has not said these firms are owned or directed by the Chinese state. See the timeline below.
As of September 28, 2026, the US has declined to use an authority in place since 2022 that would allow it to prohibit Nicaraguan-origin gold.
EO 14088 (Oct. 24, 2022) lets the Treasury Secretary, in consultation with State and Commerce, prohibit imports of Nicaraguan-origin products “as may be determined.” The clause names no product, so a gold ban would require Treasury to make and publish a determination. Checked in the Federal Register and on OFAC’s Nicaragua page, Sept. 26, 2026 A.
The July 2026 Section 301 tariffs did not introduce any additional duties on Nicaraguan gold bullion and doré despite setting a 12.5% duty on many other goods.
The forced-labor Section 301 action (effective July 24, 2026) exempts gold, including subheading 7108.12.10, under heading 9903.05.86. A separate Nicaragua Section 301 tariff reaches only goods that do not qualify as CAFTA-DR originating; Nicaraguan-mined gold normally qualifies A.

China has amassed significant concessions in Nicaragua’s gold sector.

Although Nicaragua’s gold is still primarily exported to Western markets, the rights to its future gold are increasingly going to Chinese-linked firms.

This section rebuilds the record of China’s involvement in Nicaragua’s gold sector by using the government’s own publications; principally the Ministry of Energy and Mines’ list of concessions dated August 2, 2024 (the most recent list it has published) and every mining notice that has been published in La Gaceta, the official gazette, from January 8, 2024 to September 11, 2026. It corroborates recent Financial Times’ analysis of government data, which counted 80 concessions covering 1.4 million hectares granted to Chinese miners since 2023.

  1. Chinese-linked firms received 95% of the new concession area. Of the 102 mining concessions published since January 2024, 80, covering 1.31 million ha, went to Chinese-linked firms. In 62 of them the grant notice itself identifies the company’s legal representative as a Chinese national. A D
  2. The Western producers are shedding ground rather than gaining it. Calibre Mining, now part of Equinox Gold, received about 940,000 hectares of new concessions in 2021–22, in blocks of up to about 50,000 hectares each; in 2025 it gave back about 447,000 hectares at its own request. The four Western-listed producers together received about 66,000 hectares of new concessions from January 2024 on, most of it for Metals Exploration’s La India project in May 2026. A D
  3. Ground released by others has been re-granted to Chinese-linked firms. Two lots granted to Zhong Fu Development in October 2025 match, to the hundredth of a hectare, two applications by another company that had been pending for about a decade and were declared lapsed eight months earlier. A lot named Acacia, which Calibre had sought since 2020, was granted to a Chinese-represented firm in April 2026. A D
  4. Chinese-linked holdings have grown more than sixfold in two years. From 238,000 ha in the August 2024 list to an estimated 1.57 million ha by September 2026, about 12% of Nicaragua’s territory. Of the Chinese-linked area granted since 2024, 54% lies in the two Caribbean autonomous regions and 15% in Río San Juan. D
  5. US designations have not slowed the grants. After Treasury designated four Chinese-linked concession holders on April 16, 2026, 13 further concessions covering about 383,000 hectares went to firms with Chinese-national representatives, among them 38,622 hectares to one of the designated firms, Nicaragua Xinxin Linze Minería Group, 25 days later. A
  6. Mining has moved from the energy ministry to the state’s attorney-general office. Law 1275 (La Gaceta No. 27, February 12, 2026) attached the mining directorate to the Procuraduría General de Justicia, which has issued new mining titles since March 2026. The ministry’s published concession list has not been updated since August 2, 2024, and some 2026 press reports still cite its figures as current. A
  7. The gold itself still goes West. Western-listed mines produced about two-thirds of the gold Nicaragua exported in 2025, and Nicaragua reported no gold exports to China or Hong Kong from 2015 through 2024. The Chinese stake is mostly a claim on future output, although some Chinese-linked gold already reaches the United States: Treasury said Nicaragua Xinxin Linze Minería Group shipped more than $25 million of gold there in early-to-mid 2025. A D