Hugo to nationalize exploitation of gold

[rabs]

Chavez today announced the exploitation of gold and related mineral industries in Venezuela will be nationalized in the next few days. He said gold reserves now total about 12 billion dollars. He said Venezuela could not afford that the gold be taken out of the country anymore, especially now that gold is approaching 2,000 dollars an ounce.

Other minerals included in the nationalizations will be huge deposits of bauxite and iron ore in the Guyana arc.

Chavez said the gold mining industry in Bolivar state was rife with mafias and smugglers. The armed forces will be tasked with carrying out the nationalizations.

(Not certain yet if and which foreign companies will be affected by the nationalizations. That probably will become known in the next few days.)

[rabs]

1. English version

By KEJAL VYAS
CARACAS–Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said Wednesday he plans to nationalize the country's gold industry in bid to take over production and ramp up international reserves, a day after plans to bring home billions in cash and bullion held overseas were divulged.

Speaking on state television via telephone, the leftist leader said he would be introducing a new decree in the coming days to put exploration and extraction of gold into the government's hands.

Venezuela's gold sector still remains in the hands of a "mafia and smugglers," Mr. Chávez said. "We don't only have oil wealth, we have here one of the largest reserves of gold in the world ... Let's convert it into our international reserves because gold is increasing in its value."

The announcement comes one day after documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal showed that the Venezuelan government plans to transfer billions of dollars in cash reserves held abroad to banks in Russia, China and Brazil and tons of gold from European banks to its own central bank vaults. According to the documents, the South American country aims to move 211 tons of gold it keeps abroad and values at $11 billion to the central bank in Caracas, where the government keeps its remaining 154 tons of bullion.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903596904576514453383064500.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

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If it is true that billions in cash and gold will be taken out of European banks, that is liable to aggravate the economic crises among Euro nations.

[bemildred]

2. Sounds good.

Natural resources belong to everyone, and to the future.

[naaman fletcher]

5. So,

Do you expect gold production to go up? Do you expect increased money from gold going into the treasury?

[bemildred]

6. I don't really give a shit about that.

They csn leave it sit there in the ground, that's fine with me.

[Bacchus39]

3. way to go Mr. Clean, use all that gold to make yourself a nice earing

I'm sure it will go as well as your agricultural production. at least gold that is not extracted isn't going anywhere.

[Judi Lynn]

4. Very good news! Rec. n/t

[ChangoLoa]

7. Iron and bauxite extracting activities were nationalized in the 70's, weren't they?

I mean the deposits have always been state owned but if I remember well, Confederacion Venezolana de Guayana (CVG) absorbed all iron extracting concessionaires in 1974 into Ferrominera-CVG and discovered itself the bauxite at a place called Pijiguos or something like that in 1979... they formed a national company called Bauxiven-CVG and the Bauxilum-CVG.

[flamingdem]

8. I thought the bigger news is that he's moving all bullion back to the country

which points to "issues" up ahead

[bemildred]

9. They could even be related to each other somehow. nt

[flamingdem]

10. Something is up! I read that they might suspend elections due to

Hugo's health and worry about sanctions, but who knows if that is near the truth.

[bemildred]

11. His health is not a bad guess. nt

[ChangoLoa]

14. That's what the radical opposition is starting to say here

But I think that if they do suspend the elections, they'll be shooting their own foot. The health of the president is obviously not a reason to change the electoral schedule in our constitution. You can be sure that they wouldn't worry exclusively about international sanctions in the case they try that.

[naaman fletcher]

12. Definetly the bigger news..

I think it is part of the recent melt-down on wall street. The gold is not there... the banks can't deliver to Chavez. That is just speculation of course.

Also it looks like Chavez is not nationalizing any major mines, just saying that gold in general belongs to the state in order to shut down all the illegal mining operations.

[ChangoLoa]

13. Indeed. nt