Silence surrounds "nationalization" of the Las Cristinas deposit
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Until now only the statement of President Hugo Chávez on the fate of the gold
mine is considered one of the richest in Latin America.

Natalie Garcia
ngarcia@...
Photo William Urdaneta



Besides what was said by President Chávez there is nothing to indicate the
direction to follow in the case of Las Cristinas The decision of the
"nationalization" of the Las Cristinas deposit, located in the southern state of
Bolivar, was a surprise even to the transnational administering the grant, the
Canadian Crystallex, which at the time of drafting this note was not delivered
to the statement by the national president, Hugo Chávez in Belarus, during their
tour Eurasian.

The president's words were "Las Cristinas, the mine is Venezuelan and had
delivered to a transnational announcement to the world that recovered the
revolutionary government and the mine Las Brisas, these mineral resources are
for the Venezuelans, not transnational ".

They get reviewed in the Globovisión web portal, which in turn quoted the
Venezuelan News Agency (VNA). However the news "slipped under the table" and no
point topped the headlines, leaving aside from all that so far has said the
president and approved Eurasian tour.

On Tuesday, many people have learned of what happened to Correo del Caroni
through and started the wave of comment, given that in addition to the
aforementioned there are no official notice or letter sent from the Corporación
Venezolana de Guayana (CVG) or the Ministry of Basic Industries and Mining
(Mibam) to the transnational Crystallex.

Surprised
Canadian related sources reported that "we knew nothing of this we learn from
what went in the Correo del Caroni but we've been looking at other sites and
there is no news, so I do not know what will happen nor do we information that
the company will release a statement until there is something else, that's what
it says. We are as always on the lookout. It was a surprise. "

Similar response Mibam supply sources linked to where they are awaiting the
instructions of President Hugo Chávez when he returns from his tour, to
undertake the establishment of relevant in the case.

Since last year Mibam through Minerven, acted against transnational Gold
Reserve's Brisas project taking Cuyuní, part of Las Cristinas, located in Las
Claritas Sifontes municipality of the entity.

The measure, as announced at that time, tried to recover the grant whose
contract had already expired without the MNC could get the appropriate permits
for gold mining, having only possibility for exploration.

Crystallex is in the same circumstances, your contract is for exploration but
requires operating permits to begin construction of the project would create
about 3,500 direct jobs in the area, and could take a lot of small illegal
mining to provide a destination formal.

Miners with caution

The Presidential announcement of the "nationalization" is not just because all
the ores that are in the Venezuelan soil are Venezuelans and given to the
transnational or concessions to mining companies are well-established rules,
stunned more than one .

In the miner Rusoro Mining, a large private employer in the mining sector in
southern Bolivar state in the municipalities Roscio deposits, El Callao and
Sifontes, the news shocked but there is also no answer to this and like the
others are expectation.

http://www.correodelcaroni.com/content/view/164463/112/