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Gold/Mining/Energy : Gold and Silver Juniors, Mid-tiers and Producers

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To: Crusader who wrote (2500)	11/30/2005 7:37:09 PM
From: Proud Deplorable	of 78418

TORONTO (Reuters) - Crystallex International Corp. (KRY.TO: Quote) stock touched a 2-1/2 month high on Wednesday as hopes rose that Venezuela will soon unveil the results of a mining sector review and allow the Canadian company to start working at its Las Cristinas gold mine. Crystallex stock, up about 25 percent since last week, rose as high as C$2.78 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, before falling to C$2.50, for a loss of 1.6 percent. The stock outperformed Canada's gold mining index , which lost 3.5 percent as the price of bullion fell below $500 an ounce on Wednesday. Crystallex has been seeking an environmental permit since May so it can start developing the Las Cristinas mine, which is touted as one of the world's biggest gold deposits. It has reserves estimated at 12.7 million ounces. But the Toronto-based miner has faced delays as the Venezuela government conducts a review of contracts and concessions in the mining sector as part of a broader revision of the energy and mineral industries. The review prompted speculation that President Hugo Chavez's government intends to drive out foreign investors, cancel contracts and nationalize the resource sector. Venezuelan authorities have been probing contracts and concessions to weed out idle operations. "(The review) was incorrectly characterized as a move toward nationalization," said Richard Marshall, Crystallex's spokesman. "It's a move toward rationalization not nationalization. It's ... a way to rationalize some assets if they are not being utilized." Investors now expect the future of mining concessions to be cleared up when Chavez announces the results of the sector review, which some industry watchers expect will be made within weeks. "We still expect to get the permit in the near term," said Marshall. "So, hopefully, when the new mining policy is launched, the focus is on jump-starting some of these projects."

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