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President Hugo Chávez announced that the grant will be awarded the gold mine's largest country into a joint venture between the Venezuelan state mining company and a Russian in an apparent attempt to secure new sources of revenue at a time that international oil prices fall.

VenRus, a joint venture formed last year between the Russian company Rusoro Mining Ltd and a state mining conglomerate, this year will operate the mine Las Cristinas, Chavez said Tuesday in a speech on the occasion of the release of its annual report .


A spokesman for Rusoro, based in the Canadian city of Vancouver, on Wednesday declined to comment on the deal.

Granting VenRus apparently ignored an exclusive contract that the Venezuelan government in 2002 gave the Canadian company Crystallex International Corp. to operate four sections of the mine.


Crystallex was awaiting a final environmental permit to begin the excavation, which Venezuelan authorities denied him in May alleging that affects the natural resources of the area. On Wednesday, the company said it had not been informed of any change in its exclusive rights.

The action would mean that the Venezuelan state assumes control of the country's gold reserves - a potentially lucrative - said Pavel Gomez, professor at the Institute of Higher Administration Studies (IESA) in Caracas.


Chavez has said it hopes to develop resources such as gold and diamonds allowed to continue its comprehensive spending when oil prices collapse.

Crude generates about half of government revenue and 94% of the entrances to the country exports. The precious metals sector in the country has been largely controlled by a handful of private foreign companies.


Chavez now with VenRus will be granted five of the largest gold concessions in Venezuela, including four in Las Cristinas, which has an estimated 998 metric tons of gold, and another in the mine Brisas del Cuyuní.

The measure would help Venezuela to raise its gold production to 8.2 metric tons in 2009, he added. South Africa, one of the main sources of gold in the world, produced 249 metric tons in 2007.


Rusoro, which was founded by a group of Russian private investors in Canada, has recently increased its presence in Venezuela, based on the purchase of the Venezuelan subsidiary of US-Idaho Hecla Mining Corp. for $ 25 million in mid-2007 .

He also offered to buy all outstanding shares and all units of the U.S. company Gold Reserve in Spokane, Washington, which has granted Brisas.


Gold Reserve refused the offer, there is a dispute to end the hostile acquisition is in progress. The Superior Court of Ontario, Canada, will hear his case on February 4, according to a statement from the company's website. The president of Gold Reserve, Douglas Belanger, did not return calls for comment.

Venezuela also plans to partner with an international initiative to control trade in diamonds known as the Kimberley Process in order to exploit its reserves of diamonds, said Chavez.


Venezuelan diamonds have been excluded from major world markets, and he left the Kimberley Process last year, which has the aim of forcing participants to certify the origin of diamonds to be traded to stem the flow of diamonds conflict zones.