Government to review 73.1 percent of mining concessions

The Ministry of Basic Industries and Mining (Mibam) plans to review 73.1 percent of the country's mining concessions, in order to assess the "expiration or termination" of such licenses.

According to a report on institutional policies related to mining activities, published by Mibam, there are 357 mining concessions in Venezuela spread over an area exceeding 630,000 hectares (1,556,763 acres). Of this total, 261 concessions will be reviewed by the authorities with the purpose of "maximizing the rational and sustainable use of minerals, as a tool for development of the territory axis, with an emphasis on gold, diamond, nickel, bauxite, limestone, coal, salt and feldspar, among others."

In Venezuela's Guayana there are 242 concessions and 181 will be reviewed (75 percent); in the central-plains region there are 32 and 28 will be assessed to define their current status (88 percent); between Zulia and Falcón there are 56 concessions and 30 of them will be assessed (53.5 percent); in the Andes there are 24 and 21 are likely to be evaluated (87.5 percent) and in the Northeastern and insular region there are 3 and 1 one of them will be reviewed.