[R-G] Venezuela's Chavez says "taking back" mines

[Anthony Fenton]

Venezuela's Chavez says "taking back" mines
Fri Sep 19, 2008 7:59pm EDT
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN1939402120080919

  CARACAS, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said  
on Friday he is "taking back" mines, a sign the leftist may order  
takeovers in a sector that includes a large gold project run by  
Canada's Crystallex (KRY.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

Chavez, who has nationalized swaths of the oil-based economy, appeared  
to single out Las Cristinas, the Crystallex-owned project that has the  
potential to be a world-class mine but was denied an exploration  
permit in April.

"We are taking back big mines, and one of them is one of the biggest  
in the world. And do you know what it is? It's gold, it's gold,"  
Chavez told supporters at a rally during a speech about the benefits  
of state control in an economy.

Las Cristinas has been on standby for years in need of permits. The  
government's permit denial this year sent Crystallex' stock plummeting.

Since then, the company has failed to have the permit ruling  
overturned. But it has said it has held encouraging talks with the  
government about the project.

Government officials have not publicly echoed such sentiment.  
(Reporting by Enrique Andres Pretel; Writing by Saul Hudson; Editing  
by Marguerita Choy)