Gigantic mining concessions worry environmentalists

In just under 48 hours, the Regional Autonomous Council of the Northern Caribbean Coast (Craccn), as well as its counterpart in the South (Craccs), approved a series of mining concessions of more than 240,000 hectares to Canada-based Calibre Mining and to Zhong Fu Development S.A., founded in China.

Gold is Nicaragua's main export product, generating revenues of $927.4 million in 2022, and $456.2 million in the first five months of 2023. That is $55.3 million (12.1%) more than the $400.9 million exported during the same period in the previous year. Such performance suggests that this year, gold will exceed $1 billion in exports, as the industry has been aspiring to since 2021.

While that sector –and Daniel Ortega's dictatorship– celebrate the unstoppable growth rate which has been notably accelerating since 2019, environmentalist leaders both inside and outside the country, as well as indigenous communities that say they don't  feel represented by the regional councils –which they point out are totally subordinated to the governing party–- disapprove of the concessions. They say the concessions violate their rights, and at the same time increase the threats on their water sources and on their forests.

An environmental activist, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, told CONFIDENCIAL that prior to the granting of almost a quarter of a million hectares in concessions for what he called "mining without limits," more than 26% of the country had already been handed out in concessions to mining companies. He expressed his concern that the environmental damage that will be generated in the process "will greatly deteriorate the country."

Gold is Nicaragua's main export product, followed by beef. An important percentage of both products are produced in the Autonomous Regions of the Caribbean Coast, especially in the protected areas that were supposed to have their status improved under the tutelage of the Bio-Clima project that was slated use the $116.6 million that the Green Climate Fund put on hold this week.

Calibre Mining: We did everything right

The decision by the Autonomous Regional Council of the North Caribbean Coast to approve the concession of two lots of 15,400 hectares each to a hitherto unknown company of Chinese origin, increased the level of alarm activated a day earlier, when the Autonomous Regional Council of the South Caribbean Coast granted concessions of almost 15 times that area, when they approved a concession of 226,083 hectares to Calibre Mining.

"This extractivist policy and the extensive cattle ranching going on are causing great damage to indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, both in terms of the loss of human lives and the deterioration of the territories in which they make their living, as well as in terms of damage to the environment in general, which contributes to climate change," the source added.

In a press release, Calibre Mining stated that it is complying with Law 28 regarding Autonomy of the Regions of the Caribbean Coast, as well as Law 387 that deals with the Exploration and Exploitation of Mines, under which, in 2020, they requested five mining concessions located mainly in the municipality of Paiwas (South Caribbean), asserting that the requested concessions "are not in indigenous territory or in any protected area."

The approved areas are called "Acacia" (49,645 hectares), "Agate" (45,740 hectares), "Monarca" (45,015 hectares), "Colibrí" (36,871 hectares), and "Amapola" (48,813 hectares). The company explained that the applications were submitted to the Ministry of Energy and Mines, the Regional Autonomous Council of the South Caribbean Coast, and the Paiwas Municipal Council.

Calibre said that it sent members of its team to explain the projected works in the concession areas to the regional and municipal authorities, and to respond to concerns raised by local authorities. It said this was done "during multiple meetings," and that the members of the Council visited some of its exploration projects "to learn about the good practices carried out by the company."

In an attempt to reassure critics of the mining project, Calibre emphasized that in order to carry out more detailed exploration studies, "environmental permits and consultations with the communities in the areas of interest are required," and pointed out that "only one out of every 10,000 prospects... ends up actually becoming an operational mine."

In addition to the responsibility that can be attributed to the mining industry, the environmental activist who spoke to CONFIDENCIAL recalled that both mining companies and logging companies –Alba Forestal among them-- and the meat industry that implements extensive cattle ranching, play a central role in the tragedy experienced by the indigenous communities, because they all have something in common: the settlers who invade the indigenous territories to develop these three industries.

In the process, indigenous people are violently displaced, expelling them from their own territories. The activist pointed out that "in recent years, internal migration of non-indigenous people from other parts of the country to Bonanza has increased by more than 600%. The Raccn has had the highest internal immigration for several years."

This article was originally published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by our staff.