fenalet,

Good day, in response to your comment below:

"There's no reason to think that LC is anything more than a footnote to what is going on at the national level between the countries"

I don't feel I could make such a statement of fact. Rather, I would say that 20 - 30 million oz's @ USD 1420/oz (USD 28.4 - 42.60 Billion) is more than a footnote. I would suggest it has the potential of becoming China's cornerstone investment in Venezuela. The investment is not contained within the cash for oil funding program. Nevertheless, I would suspect that before the next tranche of funding is released by China to Venezuela they would want to see the MOC transfer/permit issuance for Las Cristinas take place. The investor (the one with the cash) is usually the one that calls the shots.

We wait for Venezuela to do what they have to do before they release the news.

I continue to wait patiently for that news, comfortable with the fact that a binding and valid MOC has significant value, a value that rises with the price of gold.

Teutracker