Rearrange mining in Bolivar
Tuesday, 06 May 2008
As part of the new policies of the Ministry of People's Power for Basic Industries and Mining (Mibam) the territory of the entity will be organized.

Natalie Garcia
ngarcia@...
Picture William Urdaneta



The engineer Herrera stressed that mines will not be closed but controlled by the Venezuelan State

Starting a few months the Ministry of People's Power for Basic Industries and Mining (Mibam) will begin to further restrict the boundaries of the areas where they can exploit individual deposits of gold and diamonds that are in the entity, this will benefit all small miners and concessions that are in the Caroní River Basin and Sierra Imataca.

Luis Herrera, president of CVG Minerva and national director of audit of Mines, reported that the new policies implemented to achieve the aspired control of deposits and regulation of the miners who shall be entitled to exercise an activity like any other.

This will significantly improve the conditions of these parents, who in the past two years have been harmed by a fraudulent conversion mining that left more misery to decent jobs for those evicted.

The owner of Mibam, Rodolfo Sanz, admitted recently taken office failure of this policy and stressed the need to give it a turnaround at this point to revive mining without much damage to the environment and those that work.

Delimitation of mining

Herrera said that after the departure of all miners Caroní basin and the highlands of Imataca was relocated all evicted from deposits that are from the municipality to municipality Piar Sifontes, at Kilometer 88, where the project Las Cristinas, one of the richest gold reserves in South America.

The representative of Mibam further indicated that the company currently governed (CVG Minerva) will change his philosophy a little to give their workers, community and support small-scale mining in this activity.

"Minerva has a special feature because it can be a point of support and control for mining activity in southern Bolivar state and this is one of the most important points, Minerva instructed by the minister Sanz tends to expand their functions and scope that can be majeure, for that we must have the concurrence of workers ".

Within those plans in favor of operators deposits are studying the possibility that some of the 40 thousand hectares this company supervised by CVG become used by small producers of gold. "It raised a policy of developing small-scale mining and those 40 thousand hectares would be under state control, that is if we open areas to compensate a little concern about the action of the miners and unemployment we can assign some of these to work together with the national mining company, the Ministry of Environment and Mibam. "

Order to work

The mining engineer Luis Herrera admits that despite the criticism the Ministry intends to put in its rightful place in the mining and multinationals, thus the state will control and monitor the activity may give and which may require the exploitation of those who exercise deposits.

"There is a campaign to malign the Mibam says that is what he wants done with business, and is anything but what we want is sort sector, as they say put the house in order both to the miners as for large enterprises to power forward, and that is more or less the intention. "

It was noted that both miners as benefit from the exploitation contracts and concessions located throughout the river basin Caroní and in the Sierra Imataca leave the area not only for disposal of Mibam but take place in environmental regulation that prohibits the exploitation of minerals in such areas under special administration regime.

Apart from the shaft Upata 88-kilometer area in Guaniamo will create the first diamond company that will bring together all those who gain this valuable resource. On the other hand Minister Rodolfo Sanz has put on the table the need to end capital flight through the marketing of gold and diamond illegally without it brings no benefit to the country.

That is why we shall be creating a buyer of these minerals, namely miners will not sell to buyers who take common wealth but to those authorized by the Venezuelan State, all of this to avoid tax evasion and eliminate the "mafia" on this lucrative trade.

Herrera was emphatic in warning and ensure that all those who are in the Caroní basin-and large-chiquitos should get out of there, not done on a voluntary basis theatre No. 5 will have to act, of course supervised by the Mibam , As announced several weeks Rodolfo Sanz.

It was also the fore the cessation of mining contracts that the current and previous governments awarded in these areas. "There are contracts that were handed long time ago and that are unproductive, are people who have 5 thousand hectares and does not produce or a grain of beans then we will order for the development of the global mining activity."

Without bans

The national director of audit mine explained and clarified that mining activity is not prohibited in the area, by contrast, hopes to make an overall development of the same that benefits the surrounding communities focusing on businesses large, medium and small-scale mining without implying that no further activities in the mining sectors.

"The mining activity is not prohibited for this axis and this is where we will focus our policy, for that we need to control the mineral production, it is practicable to the environment or at least that their degradation fails to reach such a level , Control pollution and this is a mercurial work in time and space is not simple. "

The purpose of this new vision about mining in Bolivar state could be the hope for many evicted and many others engaged in illegal activity so, will also generate a conflict with dealers but in the end will be preserved flora and fauna from are protected for decades and yet are degraded by small and large miners.