Venezuela will seize several gold-mining concessions that previous governments granted private operators, in a bid to supplement falling oil prices with proceeds from state-controlled gold, President Hugo Chavez announced
Chavez named no specific contracts or companies to be affected, but his mining minister has vowed to next year take over the nation's largest mine, Las Cristinas, which is operated by Canadian mining company Crystallex International Corp.
Venezuela relies on oil for 94 percent of exports and roughly half its federal budget, making it unlikely that its largely undeveloped gold reserves could ever compete in importance.
Chavez acknowledges that oil prices - down 70 percent since topping $147 a barrel in July - will affect Venezuela, but he insists the wealthy will suffer more than the country's poor, who benefit from record social spending programs that he vows to continue.
Author:
Ksenia Kochneva
