Part ONE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86OGwbOCZdo
Part TWO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd33WWz5nDs
Part THREE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LepbUPwMuQY
transcript and translation by Franco Munini
Roy Carson: Do you have experience here (in the mining district of southern Bolivar State)?
Luis Romero: Me here? 22, 24 years.
RC: How was the development of this community?
LR: Since 2002 there was a steady growth, communities have developed and as the hopes about the start of mining projects grow, people come looking for opportunities to work; in fact, the population has increased despite the fact that the development hasn't arrived, there are just small time miners working.
RC: Are there problems with transnational companies?
LR: No. They come to invest, they're not working because the government hasn't granted the permits.
RC: Why the government hasn't granted the permits?
LR: I don't know why. The government gives the concessions so the people can work, and the government ought to grant the necessary permits, but what happens? Bureaucratic delays: MIBAM grants you its permit, the environmental ministry doesn't, and when it does, the first permit has expired and you have to start all over again looking for papers and permits, and that delays things.
RC: There're two companies here, Crystallex and...
LR: And Brisas del Cuyuni. Crystallex and Brisas del Cuyuni.
RC: Both projects are stopped now.
LR: Yes, they're stopped. It's basically the same deposit split in two parts, one to be developed by Crystallex as a CVG (Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana) operator, not as a concessionary, and the other part is to be developed by Brisas del Cuyuni, which is a concessionary indeed.
RC: CVG Venezuela owns the part (operated by) Crystallex, and Brisas is a concession. How can they go forward with their projects?
LR: To go forward, they've been granted the environmental permits, so the conditions are set, as the stipulations on how to develop the project, but they're waiting for the start-up document, which has not been granted to neither of the two although the environmental permits are valid.
RC: Why the delay?
LR: Bureaucracy or political interests from the state, which thinks that those concessions could be exploited by government companies or by friendly governments.
RC: And now, with this Rusosro company here?
LR: Rusoro is a company that's getting into the game now, they have concessions around El Callao, lately it's been heard that they want to participate in Las Cristinas project, which is Crystallex's project, they've even tried to buy Brisas del Cuyuni.
RC: They've offered to buy Gold Reserve a few days ago. Is that good?
LR: If they're good or bad is not something people around here can judge. Here what we want, whoever it is, is that those projects start as soon as possible so that there're jobs and there's an integral development of this place.
RC: Is that all you want?
LR: Yes, be it Rusoro, be it Gold Reserve, be it Placer dome, be it Crystallex.
RC: What's your experience with Crystallex, are they good with the workers?
LR: Well, so far there had been no problems with the workers; since they're not in operations, they cannot pay salaries as a company that were exploiting a mine, they've been keeping them working in conservation activities while they wait for the permits.
RC: People here want the projects to start, why don't they put pressure on the government? In today's headlines, Rodolfo Sanz says that they'll invest 900 million US$ in SIDOR over the next four years.
LR: State companies in Ciudad Guayana: VENALUM, BAUXILUM, FERROMINERA, SIDOR, CARBONORCA, all of them face serious problems to keep their technological infrastructure; production is down, structures are down and with the coming economic crisis and the drop of demand for many products they will suffer losses and they'll be harder to recover.
RC: How?
LR: Investing. And there's no money. If in ten years, with a good cash flow, there hasn't been a serious investment in those companies, it'll be difficult to get it now, and if there's any investment it'll be a limited one.
RC: The President (Chavez) has been criticized about giving money to other countries, Cuba, Nicaragua; what do you think of this?
LR: Foreign investment is what has been closed here, we always had foreign participation for the development of these large projects and if that drops we'll have problems. We welcome those capitals that come here to produce, to develop, to make our country grow, but without ideology, just people who want to work.
RC: As the devil's advocate, why the President dosn't invest in Venezuela the money he's sending to Cuba or Nicaragua, wouldn't it be better used here?
LR: In my opinion, he's more interested in his political and ideological agenda than on other activities that he should be focusing in for the integral development of the country.
RC: Is that good for this area?
LR: I don't think so. I think it stagnates the development, the growth of the country, the possibility to work.
RC: Are you a chavista?
LR: No, I'm clear: I'm a venezuelan and I love my country.
RC: As a Venezuelan, do you think that Chavez is the future? He wants to stay longer.
LR: He cannot... in the future, he's just one person, here we should have the possibility to see the work of other people thinking,; a country under an absolute monarchy cannot be compared with anything coming. Here we expect something else, it's said that there'll be a coparticipation of companies for the development of these projects.
RC: Is that good?
LR: Yes, it's good, Foreign capital, state capital and small investors' capital will come to develop projects here and there'll be participation for large scale and small scale mining, that's been the rumor around here.
RC: One thing that happened in the past is that when a trasnational company made a deal with the state it's only them who put the money, but when the state has to invest there's always delays and nothing's done; i.e. a British company wanted to invest a huge amount of money to get some lots, but the state's half never came so the investment was stopped.
LR: That's because the Law for Exploitation of Mineral Resources establishes that the state has a 50% or 51% participation of those resources.
RC: Yes, but with Rusoro the split is 50-50, they come with their money and the state might come up with excuses.
LR: They've got the mine.
RC: Will it be one more stall?
LR: The investment there has to be done by the company, it's like if I have a taxi and I lease it, you pay me for the lease, that's what they're doing with these kind of concessions.
RC: In my understanding, I make an investment, the government makes an investment and both share the costs of the project. There's been a lot of talking from the state about such investments.
LR: But the funds don't arrive.
RC: What happens if Rusoro puts lots of money and the state don't?
LR: Rusoro is on its own.
RC: But that's not good.
RC: No, it'd not be good, but those companies think there's some benefit for sure, remember we're talking gold here.
RC: What I'd like to know is, what can Rusoro do so the state (if forced to) comply with its part of the deal?
LR: The state is one side and it's one person, it depends on what he thinks: When are we going to invest, how much? In other countries there're other government entities, you have a congress, a justice court where you can bring these cases or go to international courts to make your claims.
RC: So it's not the same with an international arbitration for Vanessa Ventures and Crystallex.
LR: The state says, gime me that back, I pay you what you've got there and that's it.
RC: Las Cristinas and the areas are paralized because of blocks in international courts.
LR: Las Cristinas is not stopped for that reason, it was in the hands of Placer Dome de Venezuela, they made a company with the state, Minca; with capital from the state and from Gold Reserve, then there was a problem between Minca and the state so Minca sold its share to Vanessa Venture (for 50 US$), then since they didn't develop the project over a long period of time the state regains control of the project to grant it to an international consortium, that was the initial deal, but the president of CVG, who is now the Bolivar state governor, he wanted to appeal in international courts to accelerate the project because of the poor conditions of the local population, so this agreement was reached, where they keep control over Las Cristinas and they'll bring an company to run the operations, which is Crystallex, under some conditions.
RC: What about the contract?
LR: The contract is no longer valid, because Crystallex is not delivering. That contract is overruled.
RC: Isn't it the government's fault?
LR: It's said that it was the company's fault.
RC: Crystallex didn't comply?
LR: According to the revocation, it's the company the one that has not complied. It's not that the company is leaving, it's the government that says that the company is not complying and so it takes the control of the contract. It' s an operational contract, you do the job and I pay you.
RC: The investors in the US say that it's CVG and the government the ones that are not complying.
LR: It's possible, because in one occasion I told the minister that if the state is the one who manages the concessions and grants them to international companies to exploit those resources, it's the same state the one that has to clear the way so that those investments can be developed.
RC: Crystallex says they've invested 300 million dollars here, they've built hospitals, schools and houses, they've given 10 million dollars...
LR: I don't see any school built by Crystallex, they've made some improvements to a small school somewhere, they had to build a type "B" hospital, or a type 4 hospital, but what they did was small investments to improve some services and a rural health center, they had to improve the power supply in which their participation was very small; they were supposed to improve water supply and disposal, a drinkable water treatment and distribution system for the population, a sewage water treatment plant, nothing was done and now Crystallex is leaving, the works that were in progress were halted, we drink water that comes straight from the river.
RC: Thanks for the interview.
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