Gold Reserve reports on status of Brisas Property
SPOKANE, WA, Oct. 26 /CNW/ - Gold Reserve Inc. (NYSE-Amex: GRZ) (TSX: GRZ) reported today that stories in the press relating to the takeover by the Government of Venezuela of the Brisas Property in southeastern Venezuela are erroneous. Personnel, apparently from CVG-Minerven, visited the Brisas Camp on Thursday claiming that they were there to assume control of the Brisas Del Cuyuni Concession. The individuals who arrived at the camp did not appear to have any written authorization to conduct such action on behalf of the Government. Thus, their actions did not appear to be legally supported. In any event, any action to assume control of the property without recognizing the status of the underlying hard rock concession, which contains 97% of the economic value of the mineral deposit, would be inconsistent with Venezuelan law.
The Company on Wednesday October 21st filed its Request for Arbitration under the Canada-Venezuela bilateral investment treaty before the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes of the World Bank. This evident retaliation against the Company is a further demonstration of the Government's wrongful treatment of Gold Reserve and its investments in Venezuela.
The Company's staff at Brisas advised the persons who arrived on the property that the Company will respond, in accordance with the applicable Venezuelan laws, only to a duly authorized written request from the Government in respect of the property.
Doug Belanger, President of Gold Reserve stated, "We are very disappointed by this evident retaliatory action and have sent letters to the relevant authorities in the Government informing them of this wrongful conduct. Gold Reserve has always respected the laws of Venezuela and has the right to be treated fairly on the basis of the rule of law."
In the past few weeks there has been an encroachment on the Brisas property of small illegal miners and the Company has sent numerous formal and urgent requests to the relevant Government agencies to assist in the removal of these miners. However, the government response has been limited and the level of mining activity is increasing daily. The Company is very concerned about the safety of its employees as well as the safety of these illegal miners. Sadly, just a few weeks ago several illegal miners were killed on the Las Cristinas property adjacent to Brisas, when a pit collapsed around them due to the unsafe conditions in which they work. Also, this type of illegal mining activity inevitably results in serious environmental degradation. Gold Reserve will not be held responsible for this kind of illegal activity on the property when the Government fails to discharge its responsibilities in these matters.
