Interesting comments from Cannacord on the specifics from Ortega at the bottom of this release as to whether her recent comments were her views or that of the government. Again, here we have another apparent rouge Minister communicating a message without really knowing whether it is a government position or not. I wonder what Sanz and Chavez's position is on her comments. Canacord post is below:
Crystallex International (KRY : TSX : $0.84), Net Change: -0.16, % Change: -16.00%, Volume: 6,004,029
Bad news – and it wasn't even a Friday. With just under an hour to go in trading, Dow Jones and Bloomberg (the terminal, not the free Internet site) ran a few negative headlines related to a speech given by Venezuela’s Environment Minister Yubiri Ortega. Bloomberg wrote, "'Venezuela won't allow any open-pit mines for gold, diamonds or coal because the projects cause deforestation,' Environment Minister Yubiri Ortega said. The rule means Crystallex's planned open-pit mine in Bolivar state won't receive approval, Ortega told reporters today in Caracas." When asked about Las Cristinas specifically, Dow Jones quoted her as answering, "Yes (open pit mining) is the method for Las Cristinas". It took about 10 minutes for the stock to really respond to the hard-to-find headlines, trading as low at $0.76 after hovering at about $1. None of these stories hit the Internet during trading nor did the company press-release the stories by the close. How definitive are her comments? Are they just her views or her government's views? These are the big questions everyone wants to know.
