**** REUTERS ARTICLE:
MIAMI, March 18 (Reuters) - Top executives of Vancouver-based Crystallex International Corp
(AMEX:KRY - news; KRY.TO - news) on Wednesday dismissed a Venezuelan congressman's
assertion that their claim on a disputed mine in the South American country was false.
They said documents in Venezuela's Official Gazette supported its ownership and the decision lay
with the country's Supreme Court.
''Congressman Acosta did exactly the same thing as he did a year ago,'' Crystallex chairman
Robert Fung told Reuters. ''Let's see what the court decides.''
''We think Congressman Acosta has erred in his opinion of what the court will do,'' added director
Robert Nihon.
Venezuelan politician Rafael Rodriguez Acosta, who is president of the Congressional
Subcommission on Mining, told a news conference in Miami earlier on Wednesday that
Crystallex's claims to the disputed Las Cristinas gold mine deep in the Venezuelan jungle were
false.
Both Crystallex and Toronto-based Placer Dome Inc (NYSE:PDG - news; PDG.TO - news) have
claimed title to the mine, which some analysts say could be one of Latin America's richest. Last
year, Crystallex filed an appeal of Placer's rights in the Venezuela Supreme Court.
Trading in Crystallex on the Toronto Stock Exchange was halted on Wednesday morning, after the
share price tumbled 2.65 to 4.50 a share in heavy dealing on news of Acosta's comments.
Bernardo Alvarez Herrera, chairman of the Energy and Mining Committee, later told Reuters that
Acosta's remarks were his own opinion, not those of the government, and would not bear on the
independent Supreme Court.
Fung said Crystallex's claim to the mine was evident in a land title in the name of its subsidiary
Inversora Mael which was published in Venezuela's Gazeta Oficial in May 1996.
''The government of Venezuela has recognised the title. The case is to get back assets erroneously
given away. We want it back,'' he said.
He also defended the company's integrity in the face of Acosta's comments, saying the board
included a number of distinguished Canadians and other figures, including Venezuela's former
ambassador to the United States and the United Nations, Enrique Tejera Paris.
''You are not dealing with a board that is going to be dealing with fraud,'' Fung said. ''Every
document we put out is scrutinised by our Canadian legal counsel and our Venezuelan legal
counsel.''
Crystallex president Mark Oppenheimer also pointed to the company's long track-record in
Venezuela.
''We've been in Venezuela for years. We're the largest employer in that part of the country. We
continue to expand our activities there. No matter what the court decides we are committed to the
country in the long run,'' he said. |
