mramirez@correodelcaroni.com

A commission of 18 Asian nationality officials toured a week ago three gold plants, operated by the state CVG Minerven, accompanied by the president of the Venezuelan Corporation of Mining and director of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), José Salamat Khan, to verify their condition and evaluate production recovery projects.

"Everyone was happy, seeing Chinese plants and mines and us," said the secretary general of the Union of Mining and Gold (Sinmioro) Elby Soto, who stressed that the goal is for the recovery of the industry, with deep backward production currently is Chinese leverage, although not known with certainty the mechanism used.

This rescue is a continual waiting since 2011, when President Hugo Chavez signed the law "nationalization" of gold and the State reserved the exploration and gold mining.

The visit of Chinese a week ago was not the first. About a month ago also toured industry, located in southern Bolivar state, with the same objective: to check the deterioration that has been subjected in recent years, missing the high price of gold in the international market to $ 1,157 on average.

Deep backward

The highest of the last five years production record dates from August 2010, when the state failed to produce 708 kilos of gold. At the close of June 2015, production amounted to just 85 kilos, a figure 88% lower, although CVG Minerven since 2011 began to operate the plants and mixed transnational Rusoro Venrus and added a processing capacity 9000 tons of gold-bearing material per day, mostly in disuse.

The Chinese delegation visited the plants were Choco -Venrus Simon Bolivar La Camorra and Caratal, which includes plants and Revemin Sosa Mendez. "Before the first visit, the two -Sinmioro and Simpro- unions were in Caracas showing the state of the industry," Soto said.

The union leader said the Chinese delegation is still holding meetings in Caracas, as they are discussing the execution time and investment required. "This is very positive because it will enable the Simon Bolivar and La Camorra mine and plant will be built with new technology."

Workers expect, Soto stressed that in no more than three months, the amount of investment and the start is clear. "Soon we will be producing 300 kilos, that's the goal before investments with the improvements we have been doing in Revemin".

MEA culpa

In April 2015, on a visit to Guyana, President of the Venezuelan Corporation of Mining, José Salamat Khan, he acknowledged the low production of Minerven and the desire to revive the gold mining industry.

"Right now the production is very low, there are many problems, requires technologically adapt these companies, ensuring that inputs from the labor standpoint workers have shown their interest in recovering your company; followed in order for companies to be run by technicians and workers of the company (...) not any worker, a worker who has jurisdiction because it gives their academic preparation and experience, "he said.

"Nobody should be a unproductive mining companies, we are in conditions that allow us to be in the same way, I think there are some lessons learned and one of the things we have learned is that we must work together to make things right" he added, estimating a period of three years to see results of recovery actions.

What time was not dissipated the Chinese rescue. Indeed, in 2012, an agreement with China's Citic Group was signed to develop a mining map of all the resources available to the country within five years. With this tour, the golden door is open.