RE: Nail in the Coffin? ProbablyThe Associated Press, On Wednesday August 17, 2011, 3:21 pm EDT
By The Associated Press
CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan President HugoChavez has announced he will nationalize the country's gold mines andgold extraction industries.
Chavez said Wednesday that Venezuela will deposit some of that gold into its international reserves.
The Russian company Rusoro Mining Ltd. controls one ofVenezuela's most important gold mines in the country's southeast. InFebruary, the government cancelled the gold mining concession of aCanadian company.
Chavez made the announcement Wednesday during atelephone call broadcast during a military ceremony. He said he willsoon issue a decree carrying out the nationalization.
It's unclear how the decree is different from a 1965law that nationalized gold mining in the country. In 1977, thegovernment granted itself exclusive rights for extracting gold.