VHeadline.com Reporters: In update news following a top-level meeting with Russian government officials at the Caracas Media Hotel this morning, Venezuela is to review South African Gold Fields' sale contract of its Choco 10 gold mine operations to Rusoro Mining.

The deal was announced recently as Venezuela was full up in an intensive review aimed at regaining sovereign control of the country's burgeoning mining sector.

• Minister of Basic Industries & Mines (Mibam), Jose Khan, told reporters he considers that Rusoro bought Gold Fields since control of the mines is not within Gold Fields' gift to decide, inasmuch as Choco 10 is 100% owned by the Venezuelan State.

South African Gold Fields, described as the fourth largest gold producer in the world, is alleged to have "given" the Venezuelan "properties" to Rusoro Mining for US$520 million in cash, loans and shares "as part of a plan to focus on quality mines" having bought Canadian Bolivar Gold in March 2006 for just $360 million after it reported problems in reservoir management, water supply and local strikes.

Similar action is expected to be taken against US-based (but Canadian listed) gold mining Gold Reserve which claims a concession at Las Brisas del Cuyuni ... despite the fact that the Venezuelan government is rescinding all concessions in favor of mine operating contracts similar to that of Crystallex de Venezuela C.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toronto-based Crystallex International.

The Venezuelan government's Constitutional requirement of majority ownership in projects such as that proposed by GRZ has not yet been fully ventilated in the North American investment market but is a logical follow-through on upcoming policy adjustments shortly passing through the Legislature in Caracas.

Venezuela's new Mining Act, expected next month, will restate sovereign control over Venezuela's rich but unexploited mineral sector in a carbon copy of similar legislative moves to regain majority control of the nation's oil business from the clutches of international oil companies after years of unbridled exploitation and corruption.