* Gold Reserve says owed billions in damages

* Environmental permitting for Brisas mining delayed

* Chavez plans to develop mines with Russian companies

By Patricia Rondon Espin

CARACAS, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Canadian mining company Gold Reserve Inc said on Monday it still wants to resolve its dispute with Venezuela over the Brisas gold mine, despite filing an international arbitration request against Venezuela to recoup billions of dollars in damages.

The company filed an arbitration request against Venezuela last week to recover $300 million in investments it says it made in the Brisas and Choco 5 concessions as well as $5 billion in compensation for estimated future profits.

"We have shown the government in multiple ways that our priority has always been to reach an amicable resolution. Unfortunately, there has been no response," Arturo Rivero, the president of the local unit of Gold Reserve, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

President Hugo Chavez has said he would develop the mines in the southeastern state of Bolivar with Russian companies instead of Canadian companies Gold Reserve and Crystallex . Those companies purchased the rights to the Brisas and Las Cristinas mines, respectively.

Last Thursday, representatives of state-owned mining company CVG Minerven visited Gold Reserve's Brisas operations, claiming they were sent to take control of the concession, but Gold Reserve said the action did not appear legal.

Both Gold Reserve and Crystallex have waited for years to develop their mining projects, which together have reserves of over 20 million ounces of gold.

Meanwhile, small illegal miners have encroached on the Brisas property, according to Gold Reserve.

Gold Reserve did receive an environmental permit to develop Brisas, but it was revoked shortly after, and this year part of the concession was not renewed.

GOLD: AN ATTRACTIVE MARKET

Gold prices have skyrocketed in recent years as investors seek refuge in the precious metal to weather the international economic crisis.

Gold Reserve's Rivero said high prices meant a resolution to the dispute would speed up the development of the Brisas project at an opportune time.

"An amicable resolution would produce benefits for all involved. To do everything that the company has done would have taken the government three or four years and cost more due to inflation," he said.

Chavez said months ago that Venezuela would develop the mines with Russian companies, including Rusoro, a company based in Canada, but backed with Russian capital, which attempted a hostile takeover of Gold Reserve.

"Rusoro does not have the financial capacity or the technical muscle to move forward with a project like Brisas," Rivero said.

Under Chavez's leadership, Venezuela has nationalized many sectors of the economy, including oil and cement companies, as well as electricity and communications firms.

Oil majors ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil , as well as cement company Holcim are still in arbitration against Venezuela over nationalized assets. (Writing by Rebekah Kebede; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)