Well, that is typical Canada Stockbotch. Two falsehoods. The Supreme court never said that the gov't had exclusive "title" to the particular claims. What they said was that the gov't always owns any mining claim. "Title effectively always resides with the government on any mining claim." That is what they actually said. Ontario or the United States will tell you that too! It was not a statement of denial of any Crystallex claim.
The other falsehood was that Crystallex did not own the Carabobo claim and that "legal opinion" was that that would not change. In fact the claim before the gov't for veta rights to the claim has been acknowleged by the ministry as having no impediments and there is no adverse claim that would supersede that!
The process of owning rights to a claim in Venezuela is a multi-stage one that is never cut and dried. The title must be earned over time and is granted in increments. But at Carabobo more than elsewhere, while not a shoo in, the process is more or less trouble free. What the Mines Ministry did, and this is widely acknowledged, is recently reconstitute the consortium that Crystallex had been dealing with. By a quirk in mining regulation they had dissolved this partnership and this was what previously disallowed Crystallex from the claim. Now with this entity now proclaimed, this deal may go ahead unhindered.
There is no CVG or competing deal to screw it up here.
There are some political fences to jump here, however. One VZ congressman, who was instrumental in waging war with KRY on the Los Cristinas by campaigning with dark forces in the USA while this court case was going on, has also called for KRY to get booted from dealing with this prospector's consortium at Carabobo. What he wants is to get a piece of the deal himself. KRY has confided that they will need a partner to go ahead with the exploration on this claim, which before Los Cristinas was found, was considered to be the best undeveloped concession in Venezuela.
As far as Leggat goes I would be careful placing too much faith in what Dome says. When they go after properties, as I have personal experience to evince, their first enemy in that war is truth.
(source.. recollection from conversation with company officials)
(disclaimer: I in fact do not speak for or on behalf of the company, Fung is correct in saying that no one on the internet is in that capacity.)
mailto:echarter@vianet.on.ca
The Canadian Mining Newsletter
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