VHeadline Venezuela News reports: According to a report in today's edition of the south-east Venezuela regional newspaper Correo del Coroni, Spokane-USA-based Gold Reserve, despite having announced that it is to launch international arbitration against the Venezuelan government over losing its concession to Las Brisas del Cuyuni goldmine, is seeking to partner with Russian-owned, Vancouver-based Rusoro Mining "to strengthen and expand its participation in Venezuela's gold mining sector."

Citing correspondence, the newspaper says the "association" between between Gold Reserve and Rusoro would establish a sort of "mixed enterprise" relationship to increase its ability to attract shareholder investment.

• While Gold Reserve has lost rights to the Las Brisas del Cuyuni project after a 20-year concession lapsed, Rusoro Mining is a major employer through its subsidiary PMG with 50% of the La Camorra and Isidora Mines with the Venezuelan state in the 50/50 socialist Venrus CA joint venture.

Venezuelan Guayana Corporation (CVG) gold mining subsidiary, CVG-Minerven legal counsel Emir Rojas says a Letter of Intent between Gold Reserve and Rusoro is legally a transaction between two private companies and that no objection could be raised.  However, problems could arise if the proposals included the Choco 5 concession that CVG Minerven subleased to Gold Reserve since any such arrangement would necessarily have to be subject to review by both CVG-Minerven and the Ministry of Basic Industries & Mining,  and Basic, or face the prospect of an administrative process.

Rojas explains that it is often the case that such associations lend themselves to speculation and even fraud when consolidated companies trade shares on the "half truth" that that they have a number of mining properties in Venezuela.

"Generally, it is more PR than anything else," says Rojas who says people should inform themselves before investing in mining company shares because, although they may be perfect business opportunities and mean jobs for the people in the south of Bolivar State, everything has to be done within the current legal framework if companies are not later to be subject to investigations and sanctions.

VHeadline Venezuela News
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