mramirez@correodelcaroni.com

The national executive added more tactical moves in the mining sector on Friday, when ordering the operational and functional assignment of the Venezuelan Mining Corporation, SA, a subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA), the Sector Vice President for Finance, according to Decree No. 1,708, published in the Official Gazette No. 40.63 6 Thursday April 9.

Despite moving the body, the Venezuelan Corporation of Mining will continue to maintain its equity and financial relations with the state PDVSA through its subsidiary PDVSA Industrial, and other state agencies, including the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV).

The official document, the Executive appointed as president of the Venezuelan Corporation of Mining, SA José Salamat Khan, who has been president of the Corporación Venezolana de Guayana, head of the Foreign Exchange Administration Commission (CADIVI), Minister of Trade and Minister of Basic Industries and Mining.

Khan has had links with the mining sector, currently in crisis due to the anarchic growth of illegal mining of gold and neglect state park located south of Bolívar.

In 2011, fulfilling the role of Minister of Industries, he accompanied President Hugo Chavez in signing the nationalization decree Gold reserved to the Executive the exploitation of metal and ordered transnational migrating to a mixed scheme, however, was discarded by industries of foreign capital.

That year warned that the gold industry "remain prey" and announced the restructuring of the mining sector through the creation of Arco Minero del Orinoco, to strengthen controls, whose weakness has facilitated the illegal extraction of metal across national borders .

Between 2008 and 2009, 53.2% of gold production was not reported to the then Ministry of Basic Industries and Mining. The situation worsened in 2010 when the 23.8 tons reported internationally, Mibam recorded only 6.99 tonnes, equivalent to 29.4% of the total.

The remaining 16.80 tons were not reported. The amount represented by then an average annual loss of $ 661 million, according to the journal Gold Survey. Changes previous two weeks ago, the Executive ordered the full transfer of the shares of the state gold Minerven, based in El Callao - and owned by the Corporación Venezolana de Guayana (CVG) - the National Aurífera Company (ENA), a mixed company with shares held by PDVSA and the BCV.

With changes, presumed to industry sources, is intended to order the decomposed mining field, whose potential in gold, diamonds and even coltan, is valuable for foreign income in times of low oil. This reduction was found Friday with cutting quotas for consumption in foreign currency occasion to travel abroad and electronic purchases.

While the government has neglected mining, armed gangs have gained ground in the mining sector, south of Bolívar, stimulating environmental degradation and social deterioration.