Correo del Caroni

Mining has not taken off in South
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The national government's decision to stop granting Crystallex Las Cristinas, one of the largest gold deposits in Latin America, sparked the debate over the debts of the mining policy, whose failure can be seen in the swath of misery and labor instability in the southern state of Bolivar.

Natalie Garcia
Photo William Urdaneta



The miners have complained on numerous occasions, but their cry seems to be Heard The Las Cristinas deposit, located in the southern state of Bolivar, is the "golden panacea" that for decades promised to be the salvation of thousands of people living in living area and illegal mining in the absence of cost-effective options and organized.

On countless occasions the people of the south have claimed the activation of the ambitious project of Las Cristinas, but their voices full of need are diluted in the sea of silence.

The announcement of the "nationalization" of the mine (given in concession to the Canadian transnational Crystallex in 2002) on Sunday by President Hugo Chávez, remember that there is a serious problem to solve and is the dependence on mining in the region and what little gold mining has made quality of life for the locals.

In the case of Las Cristinas, this has more than 20 years without being formally exploited, although the land lies more than 31 million ounces of gold in proven and until 2008 was valued at 17 billion dollars.

This site not only includes the concession granted to Crystallex, also integrates the Cuyuní Brisas Project, until recently in the hands of Gold Reserve, who decided to sue the Venezuelan State for compensation.

Neither came to obtain environmental permits for the operation which prevented the gold produced expected and will give the development much loved by all sincere conditions for those involved, this time the inhabitants of Kilometer 88 and Las Claritas directly .

Open approach
The future of Las Cristinas is uncertain, little is known about what will happen when the Venezuelan government to report on actions taken after the announced "nationalization."

However, the proposal on the table and which was presented since 2008 at a meeting of Ministry of Basic Industries and Mining (Mibam) is the creation of a "Alba Gold Mining District, located at the concessions area reservoir.

The same would be divided into 3 blocks, distributed among socialist enterprises of the Bolivarian Alternative for the peoples of the Americas (ALBA) to cover small and medium scale mining. These blocks would be allocated to joint ventures of the member countries of the alliance.

Within this strategy address several issues: the formulation of a social plan in which they invest part of the financial resources generated by gold production in the region, creation of collection centers of gold, whereby the State will assume purchase of gold produced in the state, the construction of a gold refinery for purification and monetization by the state and development of gold ore processing by creating a network of controlled gold mining cooperatives.

Also include construction of a plant to recover copper mineral present and associated with gold, for use for industrial purposes in various parts of the country.

There is also the possibility of giving strategic partnerships where Venezuela has 50 percent and the other country or company involved has the remaining 50 percent, as in the present Venrus, CA that operates the concessions Isidora and La Camorra in the town of El Callao and Sifontes respectively.

Outcry

Whatever the fate of Las Cristinas, famous for being one of the richest gold mines in Latin America, the call of the villagers in the southern state of Bolivar is the activation of mining projects and the inclusion of communities in the distribution of the gains that they give.

The nature of most of these villages has been mining, but this has left very little in profits and industrial development and services has given more to Ciudad Guayana, leaving out even the institution's capital Ciudad Bolivar.

That is why the primary requirement is to generate employment and improve the quality of life around the rising of the precious gold after a long journey that ends in a piece of jewelry international design or in a vault as a reserve metal of any nation.