Globe/wire say Crystallex Int'l sues Venezuela producer

2015-11-25 06:51 ET - In the News

The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, Nov. 25, edition that Crystallex International sued Venezuela's state oil producer for $2.8-billion (U.S.) that the miner says is due after the South American country nationalized an untapped deposit holding millions of ounces of gold. A Bloomberg dispatch to The Globe reports that Venezuela's National Guard seized control of the Las Cristinas mine from Vannessa Ventures in 2001. The rights were transferred to Toronto-based Crystallex International in 2002. However, in 2011, the government handed the assets to Petroleos de Venezuela SA without compensating the Canadian company, according to a complaint filed Monday in Delaware United States federal court. "Crystallex spent more than $640-million" building mining facilities at Las Cristinas, in southeast Venezuela, where there is an estimated 26 million ounces of unmined gold, according to court papers. Petroleos de Venezuela and its U.S. unit, Citgo Holding, are both listed as defendants. Ray Fohr, a Citgo spokesman, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the lawsuit, says Bloomberg.

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