I read an article the other day that discussed illegal mining in VZ. Maybe it was posted here and I missed it but I was surprised this part wasn't discussed more in depth. Maybe this is the reason that investors are concerned with diving in to this stock. I want this minority interest issue cleared up by VZ/KRY/CREC. All RM will say is that they haven't been asked. But that doesn't mean they won't.

BIG BOOK OF GOLD
The president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, who has nationalized large sectors of the economy in his 11 years in power, is intensifying efforts to exploit gold before the drop in oil prices.

Venezuela has one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in the world: The CristinasY Venezuela, an OPEC member and owner of the largest gas reserves in Latin America, has one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in the world: Las Cristinas .

However, after numerous legal obstacles, the industrialized extraction of precious minerals in the reservoir is stopped.

In early June, the China Railway Engineering Corp announced it would buy most of the Las Cristinas project, on which the Canadian Crystallex has an operating contract.

The Chinese firm is the latest in a long list of stakeholders in the mine whose total reserves are estimated at 17 million ounces of gold, but the negotiation likely need approval from Venezuela.

The Government has said for months that only industrialize the exploitation of gold in partnerships with transnational corporations who agree to be its minority shareholders and ensures that it will establish a new mining law.

The socialist Venezuelan president has publicly announced that could develop the adjacent Las Cristinas and Brisas-owned by Canada's Gold Reserve-with Russian companies.

http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/161253/reuters-gobierno-venezolano-intenta-detener-la-mineria-ilegal-de-oro/