Condor Gold to invest US$150 million in Nicaragua

MANAGUA, Nicaragua - April 11, 2014 - PRLog -- According to industry sources, the country’s mining sector will continue to expand its operations in the next three years with the opening of La India, the fourth industrial gold mine in the country, which will exploit the resource. The mine plant will be located in the town of Santa Rosa del Peñón, in Leon. The opening of the new plant will generate jobs, developments in surrounding communities and will contribute to the growth of gold exports.

The Director of Mines of the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM, for its acronym in Spanish) Carlos Zarruk stated that the investment, which amounts to approximately US$150 million, belongs to the British group Condor Gold and could process 50,000 oz. or even 100,000 oz. of gold.

According to the Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN, for its acronym in Spanish), gold represented the country’s main export product reaching US$435.9 million in 2013, a 3 percent increase in comparison to 2012, despite decreasing international prices. Furthermore, in 2013 the country’s gold production increased by 38 percent, reaching 309,960 troy ounces.

Metal mining in Nicaragua, generated a total of 3,330 formal jobs, according to the President of the Chamber of Mines of Nicaragua in 2013, Denis Lanzas Cisneros. In 2014, the sector will include in their exploration processes, a working method of aeromagnetic survey, which will facilitate the gathering of data collection in less time with the resources the country has available.

"Nicaragua has the largest volume of regional exports in gold; with La India mine close to open, we would be the first ones regionally,” said Lanzas Cisneros

Currently, the decision to exploit gold depends on its price in the international marker, which so far is trading at US$1,309 per troy ounce. Nicaragua, according Zarruk, offers investors all the necessary conditions for investment in the gold industry due to a Special Law on Exploration and Exploitation of Mines.

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