NICARAGUA | Hopes of a mining future. After three years of prospecting, the Administración Nacional de Recursos Geográficos (ADGEO) reports that it has found deposits of titanium and chromium (each holding an estimated 200,000 tonnes, in the south of Siuna municipality, some 485 kilometres northeast of Managua. Siuna has produced gold and silver since the beginning of the 20th century. Titanium nowadays fetches about US$380 an ounce, slightly less than gold. The private firm Nica Gold has already filed for a concession to develop the new deposits.
HONDURAS | Remittances expected to go on growing. A study by various private firms predicts that remittances by Honduran expatriates this year will reach US$1.25bn, or 25% more than in 2003. Remittances, which have become the leading source of hard-currency inflows, reach two out of every five Honduran families, according to the study. Most of the money comes from the US, where about 500,000 Hondurans (7% of the population) have gone to live and work.
COSTA RICA | `Regular' firms boost exports. Costa Rica's trade deficit shrank last year by 21%, to US$1.53bn. This was the result of exports growing almost three times faster than imports: they brought in US$6.09bn, 16% more than in 2002, while imports expanded by 6%, to US$7.62bn. Noteworthy is the fact that the most dynamic exporters were those outside the free zones where the assembly industry is concentrated. Medical appliances and pharmaceuticals were the star performers in 2003.
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