"I also believe that those negotiations are only occurring in an attempt to merge the two projects."

The question is: Who is pushing for a merger between LC and LB...... GRZ or Ven?

FWIW I recently asked RM (for about the tenth time): Has Ven ever asked KRY to merge with Gold Reserves and combine LC with LB? His answer was, "No".

BTW....... this is what I asked him:

Richard, Is the following true?

A: Ven has never asked for any changes to the Mine Operating Contract. RM: Yes, that's true.
B: Ven has never asked (or told) KRY to merge with GRZ/ Las Brisas. RM: Yes that's true.
C: Ven has never stated what are the obstacles to the permit. RM: Yes that's true.
D: KRY is often in talks with "high level" officials in Ven. RM: Yes that's true.

Upon his response I asked him: Then what the hell is being discussed in these "high level" talks!?

He did not answer that last question. His response was that KRY and the Chinese were hopeful the talks with Ven would lead to closing the deal on the JV.

In defense of Richard it's possible that he's been purposely kept out of the loop to be able to deflect questions from fools like me.

That way he can honestly say: I have not been advised of any specific problems.

Richard does not have an easy job being the mouthpiece of KRY. And, from what I remember, he's one of the few people in that office who have invested real dollars in KRY stock.

He's lost a lot of sleep over this POS, as we all have, and he's often put in a corner having to defend the decisions and managerial style of Bob Fung, not to mention the lunacy of Hugo Chavez.

Cividale