VHeadline editor & publisher Roy S. Carson writes: Quite frankly I don't know if it is deliberate dis-information designed to make fly-by-night profits out of gullible investors or if it is the sheer simplicity of total ignorance but a snippet taken from the "EndTimesRoundTable" website really takes the biscuit:"Hugo Chavez once more has played nasty games with North American firms. Venezuela plans to build large scale mines at its giant gold deposits with Russian cooperation. The new plans constitute an abandonment of Crystallex, even a likely expropriation, as the permit process has been held up on the prized Las Cristinas project for environmental reasons. Typical Chavez tactics, this time with vague reference to the betrayed Crystallex, whose relationship has been rescinded. The Cristinas property contains one of the biggest gold deposits in all of Latin America. A grand accord with the Russian mining company Rusoro was made firm into a contract, whose signing took place with a Russian delegation. Rusoro will operate both the Cristinas and Brisas projects, according to Venezuelan mining minister Rodolfo Sanz. Again in vague terms, Rusoro will have full access to both projects. North American mining firms are slowly being weeded out, as Hecla sold out at heavy loss its Venezuelan subsidiaries to Rusoro. Chavez is regarded as speeding up mine development in response to a severe decline in the crude oil price, and consequent hits to revenues."
Where do they get it all from?
Even a desultory effort at information-gathering would certainly leave questions hanging in the air ... but sweeping statements like the above are beyond all consideration and potential victims of the "EndTimesRoundTable" Internet scam should take due notice of THE FACTS!
1. It is typically gringo-subjective to claim that "Hugo Chavez once more has played nasty games with North American firms!" If anything, many/most North American firms have "played nasty games" with Venezuela's sovereign resources and it is the onus of the President of any country (the United States included) to prevent foreign exploitation of the same.
2. A (deliberate/negligent) misquote from a regional radio station has given wings to sweeping statements that Venezuela plans to build large scale mines at its giant gold deposits "with
Russian cooperation." Drawn, supposedly, from the conclusion that Vancouver-based mining company Rusoro Mining's name is built on "Russia" and the Spanish word for gold "Oro" ... yet the company is Canadian, albeit with a minority of its shares held by the Russian Agapov Group (which is scarcely seen as being other than the much-disparaged Russian oligarchy, even in Venezuelan eyes!).
3. Extrapolating on the first two pieces of juicy dis-information, the "EndTimesRoundTable" website would irrationally have us believe that "The new plans constitute an abandonment of Crystallex, even a likely expropriation." Who said? Firstly, the government official who was misquoted, November 5, Basic Industries & Mining (Mibam) Minister Rodolfo Sanz has specifically denied the Russian/Rusoro angle and explained that the government is seeking to take control of its own gold resources in an area loosely described in the region as "Las Cristinas" ... the debacle has, of course, caused a flurry of speculation (of which the "EndTimesRoundTable" hype is but one aspect) irrationally postulating that the Venezuelan government is about to nationalize a gold resource that was already nationalized way back in 1976. So how the government could RE-nationalize its already nationalized gold resource is way beyond anyone's reasonable speculation... Nevertheless, the argument seems to seriously neglect the basic fact that the Las Cristinas goldfield is -- and will remain -- the Venezuelan government's sovereign property. Canadian Crystallex International Corporation does, however, have a signed and sealed contract with the state-owned Venezuelan Guayana Corporation (CVG) to operate the mine on behalf of the government! What then?
4. "Typical Chavez tactics, this time with vague reference to the betrayed Crystallex, whose relationship has been rescinded!" ????? Wow! Where did they get THAT from? There has certainly been no relationship rescinded. In fact, Crystallex executives are still in dialogue with the government on a final environmental permit that is the single bottleneck to progress towards the full scope of the mining contract they hold with the CVG (a.k.a. the government)!
5. "A grand accord with the Russian mining company Rusoro was made firm into a contract, whose signing took place with a Russian delegation." Heck, the Russian President is in town today and his delegation has been busy signing accords all over the place but as of this moment (certainly much later than the "EndTimesRoundTable" website will have authored their onslaught) there's been NO MENTION of any negotiations on gold mining, much less a contract signed with Rusoro on anything else other than the 50/50 socialist joint venture on the La Camorra and a few other gold mines they took over from USA-Idaho-based Hecla when the latter abandoned Venezuela a few months back.
6. "Rusoro will operate both the Cristinas and Brisas projects, according to Venezuelan mining minister Rodolfo Sanz!" Okay, I admit that there is some minimal possibility that Minister Sanz has been shooting off his mouth with Martians on some alien adventure into outer space, but FRANKLY ... I don't think so! The spaced-out authors of the "EndTimesRoundTable" website are themselves playing games with their readership, trying to trick them into believing the crap they've published that "in vague terms, Rusoro will have full access to both projects!"
Hey, who knows, pigs may fly!
I've just seen a squadron of them jetting past my window ... but, seriously, ... why should anyone with even an ounce of grey matter between their ears believe any of this "EndTimesRoundTable" website crap as having even an inkling of what they're talking about!
THE FACTS ARE: that the Venezuelan government is still in talks with Crystallex and other affected foreign companies; that the Venezuelan government does want to get its gold mining industry up and running to generate employment in a critical region of the country's economy; that responsible government officials have NOT YET clarified anything -- most certainly NOT with regard to any significant Russian, Chinese or even Burkina Faso's involvement in their mining industry -- and the Russian President is leaving town this evening...
I guess they'd better hurry up then if they are to make the "EndTimesRoundTable" website's daydreaming fantasies come true!
Roy S. Carson
vheadline@gmail.com
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Venezuela is facing the most difficult period of its history with honest reporters crippled by sectarianism on top of rampant corruption within the administration and beyond, aided and abetted by criminal forces in the US and Spanish governments which cannot accept the sovereignty of the Venezuelan people to decide over their own future.
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