The mining company HEMCO has announced it will gradually be reactivating its activities in the Bonanza gold mine, after they were stopped due to disturbances caused by artisanal miners.
Mining operations will resume completely in approximately five days, relying on the support and confidence shown by the Nicaraguan government.
The Colombian company Mineros SA, owner of HEMCO in Nicaragua has announced that it will reduce investments in Colombia and focus on operation of the gold mine La Bonanza, in the Central American country.
From a statement issued by Mineros S.A .:
At the Annual Shareholders' Meeting of MINEROS S.A. held yesterday at the Country Club Ejecutivos, with the administration headed by Beatriz Uribe (who is conceding her post as CEO to Andres Restrepo from next May 1) confirmation was given to the partners that the company will reduce investments due to volatility in the price of gold.
The concessionaire B2Gold expects to invest $44 million this year in the La Libertad, Santo Domingo and El Limón mines, while HEMCO SA plans to spend $14 million on the operation of the Bonanza mine.
During the period 2013-2014 B2Gold extracted 197,808 ounces from El Limon and La Libertad mines, while HEMCO achieved a total production of 113,770 ounces.
Nicaraguan mining companies forecast more growth for 2014 in line with the investments made by the sector.
According to statistics from the Center for Exports (CETREX) up to November this year sales of raw gold rose by 10.4% going from 12,001 kg in 2012 to 13,251 in 2013. An increase in value of 2.9 % with revenues of $395.1 million was recorded, while in the same period of 2012 it was $389.9 million .
In the municipality of Bonanza the traditional method of using cyanide and mercury will be abandoned and instead the gravimetric and flotation method will be implemented.
"Alvaro Peralta, HEMCO's Manager, explained that in coordination with the municipal government and the miners, they are implementing new industrial technologies, and for this reason it has been proposed that the municipality of Triángulo Minero be declared "the first mercury-free mining town in Nicaragua" according to an article in Elnuevodiario.com.ni.
After the purchase by the Colombian group Mineros SA, of 90% of the shares of Hemco, the private sector is confident that more will be invested in energy and agro-reforestation.
"We're talking about a sector that not only is backing mining, but also in energy, agro-reforestation, the cocoa sector and in the area of services through call centers," said Joseph Adam Aguerri Board Chairman of the Superior Council for Private Enterprise (COSEP).
Mineros SA has bought 90% of the shares of the Bonanza mine from the company Hemco, for an amount that has not been disclosed.
From a press release from Hemco in Nicaragua:
Mineros, S.A, the Colombian private business group with over 38 years experience in the mining sector has decided to invest in Nicaragua acquiring a 90% stake in Hemco Nicaragua S.A in Bonanza, in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN).
The mining company Hemco is diversifying its activities and investing $138 million in hydropower, forestry and call centers in Bonanza on the Nicaraguan Atlantic.
Hemco Nicaragua SA is a good example of how private initiatives can contribute to the social and economic development of a country with its increase in investment following a strategy of diversification.
Three companies from the U.S. and Canada have acquired concessions rights for exploratory mining, with investments of about $5 million.
The new concessions add to those already existing in the country, in which a total of $12.7 million have been invested between January and May 2011, according to the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM).
Karla Guerrero, director of the Mining Chamber of Nicaragua told reporters that of the total investment, about $10 million has been earmarked for exploration and that at the current rate, investment could top 2010 levels of $20.7 million.