Venezuela's ministry of basic industries and mining (Mibam) has offered to pay miners 10,000 bolívares (nearly US$4,600) as an incentive to join a program designed to halt informal mining.

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"The plan aims for miners in La Paragua to begin working in another field like agriculture, carpentry or craftwork," the executive director of Venezuela's mining chamber Camiven, Luis Rojas, told BNamericas.

The Venezuelan government drew up the program in the hope of ending informal mining in the Cuyuni and Caura river basins that are important tributaries to dams used by hydroelectric plants, he said.

La Paragua is in the Raúl Leoni area of southeastern Venezuela's Bolívar state.

However, an industry official said that although the government has removed several illegal miners from the river zones by offering benefits and training, the mining conversion scheme is wishful thinking.

"Because the conversion is two years old this month with no results," the official said.

LAS CRISTINAS

The program has prompted several displaced miners to try their luck in the south of Bolívar state at the Las Cristinas gold project, where Canadian company Crystallex International (TSX, Amex: KRY) hopes to fire up operations.

"Las Cristinas has become a spillway for those miners pushed out of other areas," Rojas said, adding that the issue of informal mining at Las Cristinas has become even more complicated.

The Las Cristinas deposit, which is awaiting permits, has 464Mt grading 1.13g/t gold or 16.9Moz contained in proven and probable reserves plus 629Mt grading 1.03g/t gold or 20.8Moz contained in measured and indicated resources.