Emergency mine in Las Claritas
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
The community leaders said that if they forbid the extraction of gold, of which people live, they should tell what may live

Isidro Casanova

The Claritas is already a small mining town constituidoLa and artisanal mining that were born along with the towns and Las Claritas Kilometer 88, San Isidro parish, Sifontes municipality, in assessing the weight of the decision denying environmental permits to two major projects gold, consider that the emergency declared a couple of months ago, is entering a critical stage because they do not know what will live now when announcing the ban on mining in Imataca. The leadership of small-scale mining in the parish San Isidro issued two documents by which supported the startup of projects Las Cristinas and Brisas del Cuyuní. In this regard argued that: - Companies have complied, therefore, the Government must give them permission to start, not prohibited. We have over 10 years of frustration, being useful to recall that our president Hugo Chávez, has always supported us. We now continue with the same backing.


The exhibition contains representatives of the indigenous community councils and those who ratify the creole invitation to the Minister Rodolfo Sanz to visit those towns and palpe personally existing realities.

Regarding the Las Cristinas and Brisas projects, although the Ministry of Environment announced that the permits were denied, contend that:

- These projects are necessary for the consolidation of all twenty communities that make up the parish, because these projects could create more than five thousand jobs with them, people we can get out of our plight. We are six indigenous communities and fifteen Creole. Thanks to the two companies of those projects, we ido solving some problems, but the general aspiration we have is starting these projects.

This approach makes it Pasiano Elliman, Daniel Gomez, Eligio Velasquez and Freddy Enrito by indigenous communities; Yokasta Cedeño, Alcides Herrera and other communities in Creole. Also signed Patricia Gomez. Gilberto Aguirre, Sergio Williams, Hoover Toro, Marlon Forestry and many other signatories.

With gold born peoples

The Claritas and Kilometer 88 were born in the heat of the exploitation of gold, especially in Las Cristinas, at the time that Amalfi Grossi, an Italian explorer, was at the forefront of these rich mines. Reportedly, the then president Raúl Leoni gave a geographer American gold a concession which was then known as Las Cristinas. This geographer named Lemus died shortly after the grant and became his widow Dock Lemus, who lived in the United States and did not speak Spanish. Grossi won the award in lease and began the exploitation of alluvial gold. With rudimentary equipment was plenty of gold extracted. At age 20, when the grant was in full swing beat. Thousands of miners, concentrated in Las Cristinas were cited two founding peoples, Las Claritas and Kilometer 88. In these people circulating through the streets much, but the price was low until 1982, when the famous Black Friday, when the government of Luis Herrera Campins, lifted exchange controls and gold rose to trading in dollars. Proceeds of the high volume of money circulating, people were constructing houses and shops. The two peoples grew at the rate of exploitation of gold, pushed by the new prices ever higher, which has bearing.

Without measuring the consequences

Express sources that the Minister of Environment's decision to deny permits to projects Las Cristinas and Brisas, without measuring the consequences. If prior to the decision had taken into account that the life of Las Claritas and Kilometer 88, is the only gold mine, could have reached the decision of the negative and along with it, the alternatives to the thousands of people have how to live and not have to leave now wanders the world, begging any miserable job to support their families.