thanks for you keen observation... IMO the new law.. like many other irrational impulses EC has had over the past monts ( expropiations, persecutions, TV shows, etc, etc) is to get support from his admirers... fewer every day... and he knows it. the desperate can only survive by taking desperate measures...

If mining was in his radar... he would be getting the ore out of the ground... and fast. my two cents.