Investment to be made in the local mining sector between 2009 and 2018 is estimated at $10 billion and it is projected that by 2019 the value of the export of metals will reach $2500 million a year.
From a statement from the Mining Chamber of Panama:
On November 19th-21st 2014 companies engaged in mining infrastructure and construction in Central America and the Caribbean will meet in the Atlapa Convention Center in Panama.
The Mining Chamber of Panama, is organizing for the third time the International Minera EXPOConferencia event.
The adoption of the amendments to the hydrocarbon law provides for the participation of the state run company Petronic in exploration activities and the ability to partner with other companies engaged in the activity.
The amended law authorizes Empresa Nicaragüense de Petróleo (Petronic) to represent the State in the exploration and exploitation of oil and "... make 'associations and partnerships with companies who come to explore and exploit hydrocarbons.'"
A proposal has been made to amend the Special Law on Exploration and Exploitation of Hydrocarbons in order to further extend search deadlines from 5 to 10 years for the operating period and from 1 to 6 years for exploration.
In order to provide longer time frames for exploration and mining stages, the President has sent to the National Assembly a proposal to reform the Special Law on Exploration and Exploitation of Hydrocarbons.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines has granted to the Canadian company Blue Stone Gold Mining a 25 year mining exploration concession in the municipalities of Prinzapolka, Siuna and Rosita.
The area granted in concession for mineral exploration area covers 25,692 hectares in the municipalities of Prinzapolka Siuna and Rosita, in the autonomous region of the North Atlantic.
The Canadian company B2Gold will be extending exploration activities in the La Libertad gold mine for seven years and operating six other projects in other parts of the country.
The process of conversion of the La Libertad gold mine, initiated by the Canadian B2Gold and which currently extracts between 140,000 and 150,000 troy ounces of gold a year, will continue for seven years, according to statements made by company representatives.
In the last six years capacity mining production in the country has tripled and it is expected to increase even more with the startup of two new projects.
According to Denis Lanzas Cisneros, vice president of the Chamber of Mines of Nicaragua, one of the main reasons behind the growth of the sector in recent years is the regulatory framework which established the Mining Act, which "... 'has created investor confidence in developing technology, and that has allowed us to increase our production capacity, improve our quality to get better returns from the waste materials we get from mining. That led, in 2013, to us becoming the chief exporter (country) with 442.6 million dollars which represented 18.44 percent of Nicaragua's total exports.'"
The increase in sales of lead abroad has been attributed to the shipments that have begun from the Escobal mine, belonging to Canada's Tahoe Resources.
Lead exports increased by $141 million between January and May this year compared to the same period last year, according to the Central Bank of Guatemala.
Workers at the Petaquilla Minerals Mine reported cessation of production and shareholders are demanding further explanation of the reduction of 98% of production in the first quarter of the year.
The decline in production at Molejón gold mine, in the district of Donoso, Colon, is concerning the shareholders of the Canadian company Petaquilla Minerals, who believe that some decisions made by the directors of the company have not been adequate and are proposing alternatives such as capitalizing the company, among other things.
After a 30-year ban and with a $551 million investment, the Fenix project has resumed operations for the production of up to 25,000 tonnes of ferro nickel a year.
An operating license for the Niquelgua Montufar II mine was awarded in April 2013 to a subsidiary of Solway Group, Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel, in which the Guatemalan state has a 1.8% stake.
Greenfield Resources has initiated efforts to request the reopening of the Remance mine, in which it plans to invest $110 million.
16 years since the closure of the mine, caused by the collapse of the gold price in the international market, the Panamanian company Greenfield Resources Inc.
The government has announced that it will revise all contracts awarded and projects that are not being run will be reassigned.
State institutions responsible for granting operating licenses to mining, forestry, clean energy generation and hydrocarbon projects, have a deadline of two weeks to complete the collection of all permits, licenses and concessions granted in the past two governments and present a report to President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who will decide whether or not to revoke the licenses that have not been executed in order to reallocate the revoked contracts to new investors.
The government plans to generate $5 billion in investments from local and foreign companies in the eight most important sectors of the economy.
The areas of energy, construction and housing, tourism, agribusiness, mining and petroleum, infrastructure and manufacturing, maquila and forestry were identified by the government as the production sectors that contribute most to the economy.
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