Crystallex Insists Las Cristinas Contract Safe
Published by MAC on 2005-09-22Crystallex insists Las Cristinas contract safe
Thursday September 22, 2005
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Crystallex International Corp. (KRY.TO: Quote) insisted for a third consecutive day on Thursday that its contract to mine the Las Cristinas gold deposit in Venezuela is safe despite overnight comments by President Hugo Chavez.
"There is absolutely no evidence, no advice, anything to the contrary," Crystallex chief executive Todd Bruce told Reuters when asked if there was any chance of the contract being revoked by Venezuela's government.
"Mining companies' existing contracts and concessions that are in compliance are going to be honored. There seems to be no issue over that at all," he said.
Chavez said late on Wednesday that his government was cancelling all mining concessions and would not award any new deals to transnational companies as part of a wider sector restructuring.