Gold Reserve granted hard-rock rights at Las Brisas

With the publication of a special issue of the Official Gazette, the government of Venezuela has granted Gold Reserve (GLR-T) title to the hard-rock rights at Las Brisas, a copper-gold deposit in the Kilometre 88 region of southeastern Venezuela.

The resolution was published in the Official Gazette of Venezuela on Friday, Dec. 12th, reports Douglas Belanger, executive vice president of Gold Reserve.

Gold Reserve shares had been hit hard recently, after the Venezuelan Supreme Court suspended the issuance of mining concessions in the Imataca Forest Preserve, which includes Las Brisas. The preliminary ruling was applauded by environmentalists, who believe the preserve should be kept free of mining. A definitive ruling will be issued in early 1998.

Before the rights are fully granted, the company must wait through a 30-day comment period, though Belanger doesn’t anticipate problems, since Gold Reserve has already been through two such comment periods without incident.

The company has been working toward the hard-rock mineral rights for four and a half years — a period Belanger describes as “a long, hard and difficult time for the company and its shareholders.”

Added Gold Reserve President Rockne Timm, “The publication of the resolution is a tremendous milestone.”