Camiven urges government to reactivate mining activity - Venezuela

By Harvey Beltrán, Business News Americas

Venezuela's mining chamber Camiven has urged the government to reactivate mining activity in the country in order to generate social and economic benefits from the healthy period the sector is currently enjoying around the globe, the chamber's executive director Luis Rojas told BNamericas.

"When a concession-based system is threatened, it's tough to make investments or to consolidate mining operations, let alone explore, which requires venture capital," he added.

Faced with no clear signs from the Venezuelan government about the future of mining and the lack of a long-term mining plan, Rojas feels the government has not yet developed a policy for the sector.

Last week, Camiven expressed the need for a national mining plan that would recognize the rights of investors and allow projects to be developed efficiently.

However the sector is only aware of short-term measures for now, "and business does not prosper that way. Measures have to work like the mining business, long term, and that isn't happening," he said.

Venezuela is host to several operations including the Choco 10 gold mine owned by Canadian Rusoro Mining (TSX-V: RML), and Anglo American's (LSE: AAL) Loma de Níquel mine along with gold operations run by state-owned Minerven.

The country is also home to the 20.8Moz Las Cristinas gold deposit owned by Toronto-based Crystallex International (TSX: KRY) and the Las Brisas copper-gold project held by Canadian miner Gold Reserve (TSX, AMEX: GRZ), which contains 10.4Moz gold and 1.3Blb (589,670t) copper