By Steven Bodzin

May 10 (Bloomberg) -- Crystallex International Corp. and Gold Reserve Inc. may get mining permits from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, less than two weeks after their stocks plunged on announcements operations would be blocked on environmental grounds.

``The decision will be made in the coming week,'' Environment Minister Yubiri Ortega said late yesterday in an interview at the presidential palace.

Crystallex plummeted 64 percent to 60 cents in trading on the American Stock Exchange since April 29, the day before it said Ortega's ministry would deny an environmental permit for its planned Las Cristinas mine. Gold Reserve said on the same day its permit for an existing mine would be revoked. The company's stock, traded in Toronto, has fallen 52 percent to C$1.75.

``There is irreversible environmental destruction, irreversible,'' Ortega said about the mining operations. ``If there is some type of remediation, and I don't know what in the world that could be, they may still get their permits.''

Ortega said Chavez will decide whether to grant permits after consulting with her and Minister of Basic Industries and Mining Rodolfo Sanz.

Crystallex Vice President Richard Marshall and Gold Reserve President A. Douglas Belanger didn't respond to calls for comment placed outside of business hours.

To contact the reporter on this story: Steven Bodzin in Caracas at sbodzin@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 10, 2008 02:25 EDT

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