Venezuela plans to nationalize gold mining

Venezuela, August 17, 2011

Venezuelan President, Hugo Chávez, announced the submission to Parliament of a bill that plans to nationalize gold mining around the country.

“I will soon propose a law authorizing to begin nationalizing the gold area and I’m counting on you -he said to the army- because that area is anarchy, there are mafias and there is smuggling.”

“That’s our great wealth, one of the largest in the world, gold, precious stones, diamonds, bauxite, iron mining. All in the arch of Guyana,” Chavez said.

“I have here the laws that which reserve for the State the exploration, exploitation and all related activities to gold, that is, we are going to nationalize the gold and we will take them to our international reserves, because their value continues to increase,” he said.

“We have about 12 or 13 billion dollars in gold reserves. We can not let them continue to take that away, ” the President said.

Venezuela has large gold deposits throughout its territory. Only in La Cristina, there are 17 million ounces (30,600 million dollars).