Camiven: Unjustified permitting delays persist - Venezuela
Friday, February 8, 2008
The process of awarding environmental permits needed to fire up mining developments in Venezuela has been "greatly delayed for no justifiable reason," according to the country's mining chamber Camiven.Because of the situation, large gold projects like Las Brisas and Las Cristinas "are still idle," Camiven president Gilberto Sánchez told BNamericas.
The Las Cristinas project owned by Toronto-based Crystallex International (TSX: KRY) holds nearly 20.8Moz gold contained in measured and indicated resources. An engineering, procurement, construction and management contract was signed for the project in April 2004.
The Las Brisas copper-gold project held by US miner Gold Reserve (TSX, AMEX: GRZ) contains 10.4Moz gold and 1.3Blb(589,670t) copper. Capital expenditures at Las Brisas are estimated at US$638mn.
For now, the two companies are "only carrying out [work in the zone] that their temporary licenses will allow and they continue performing social activities in communities near the mines," according to Sánchez.
The neighboring projects are situated in Venezuela's Guayana region in southeastern Bolívar state.
ENABLING LAW
Sánchez also indicated that a reform to the mining law proposed through the presidential enabling law is still on hold.
"There is a new minister and deputy minister and the issue has not come up yet, and the national assembly is dealing with other issues," he said.
Harvey Beltrán
Business News Americas
