Nicaragua grants Chinese company linked to US-sanctioned firm the right to mine gold in 262 km² of rainforest

The Nicaraguan government has granted a Chinese company linked to a US-sanctioned mining venture the right to explore and extract gold over a 262 square km area of ​​rainforest. The concession, called Jade, has a duration of 25 years and was assigned to Linze Excelente Mineria, a company that appeared in the Nicaraguan mining register only last year. Company documents indicate Lijun Dong as the legal representative of both Linze Excelente and Nicaragua Xinxin Linze Mineria Group, included in the list of entities sanctioned by the US Treasury in April.

According to Washington, Xinxin Linze had received tens of thousands of acres from the Nicaraguan government and shipped over 25 million dollars in gold to the United States in the first half of 2025 alone. Linze Excelente also received 10,592 hectares from the sanctioned company in July 2025. The new concession was awarded at the end of June, just ten weeks after the US sanctions, but was only made public yesterday.

According to the environmental organization Fundación del Río, Chinese companies now control mining concessions covering 1.28 million hectares, about a tenth of Nicaragua's territory.

Gold brought the country $1.97 billion in 2025, equivalent to 22.7% of exports. For the Jade concession, Linze Excelente will pay the state just 25 cents per hectare in the first year.