Venezuela Nationalizes Gold

By Jack Phillips
September 20, 2011

New law says mining companies must sell all gold to government

A law that forces mining companies to sell all gold extracted in Venezuela to the government went into effect on Monday, according to media reports.

The law, signed by President Hugo Chavez last month, will allow private companies to mine in the country with the government owning over a 55 percent stake in their ventures. Under the new law, companies will have to turn over 13 percent of their profits to the state.

The law was recorded in the state’s Official Gazette, Friday. “The gold found on national land belongs to the Republic, and is public domain,” the law said.

Also private companies cannot export gold outside Venezuela and must contact the government and agree to the joint venture within the next three months, according to The Associated Press.

For any legal problems, the law states that companies, international or domestic, must settle them in Venezuela and cannot seek international arbitration, said the report.

Chavez said that under the law, Venezuela will be able to acquire around $11 billion for Venezuela’s gold reserves.

Venezuela only mines around six tons worth of gold per year but there are large gold deposits under the jungles near the Orinoco River.

Source: The Epoch Times.
Link: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/world/venezuela-nationalizes-gold-61834.html.