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Gold/Mining/Energy : Crystallex (KRY) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Syncrude who wrote (10728)	9/11/2002 9:43:35 AM
From: Dan P	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10836

Well, Syncrude: Mr. John Ing, president of the Canadian company Maison Placements believes its a done deal. Here is a link to the interview: and an excerpt. I still wonder how $50 can buy you a 10 million ounce gold deposit??? investorcanada.com "Ing: Well, it’s been a classic David versus Goliath. This Crystallex has fought off the scepticism of the street, Placer Dome, even some members of the Venezuelan government in order to get this project. IC: How much gold is in the ground down there? Ing: So the big sticky point has been the ownership that is the rights to the deposit. The Venezuelan government, when Placer walked away, took back the rights so to speak and the decision, the historic decision was granted Crystallex on Friday night. So there still is a couple more weeks of an agreement to sign, but my understanding is that all the major issues have been resolved. IC: Now, of course, there is a company in Vancouver that may disagree with you, Vannessa Ventures. Ing: Yes. Vannessa “bought” the rights to the deposit from Placer Dome in a deal whereby Placer Dome gave it what rights it thought it had to the deposit to Vannessa for the grand sum of $50. So they have been huffing and puffing and the lawyers have been involved. In mining, no deposit is worth much unless you have a lawsuit. So I am not surprised about the huffing and puffing. But the fact that CVG, which is the crown corporation for the Venezuelan government, has been granting mining concessions in the past and granted this one and the fact that the government is behind it suggests to me that Crystallex has won the deposit and the likelihood of lawsuits, well, that’s part of normal."

To: Syncrude who wrote (10728)	9/11/2002 9:53:59 AM
From: russet	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10836

The Vancouver Sun reports in its Wednesday edition that the controversy that has enveloped the rich Las Cristinas deposit in Venezuela is due mainly to an insistence by Crystallex International that it owns the concession. The Sun's David Baines takes a broad look at the company that on Friday claimed government backing for its proposal to develop a mine at the disputed property. Each year, the company has recorded the property an associated costs as an asset on its books. It lost a final and binding court case on the matter in June, 1998. Last week, government officials said that title to the concesion would remain with the state. For years the company has repeatedly reported that certain of its assets are under development and on the verge of production, only to be hit by unexplained delays. It has paid extraordinary amounts to its top officers and directors. Last year, chairman Robert Fung was paid an astounding $630,000 (U.S.), while president Marc Oppenheimer made $623,000 (U.S.). Mr. Fung owns only 19,500 shares of the company, while Mr. Oppenheimer owns 25,000. Crystallex is noted for avoiding a skeptical press; Mr. Bains's numerous phone calls to company offices were not returned. (c) Copyright 2002 Canjex Publishing Ltd. *********************************************** The Vancouver Sun reports in its Tuesday edition that news that the government of Venezuela chose Crystallex International to develop the Cristinas gold deposit sent shares of the Vancouver-based junior up 60 cents Monday to $3.20 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on huge volume of 2.75 million shares, while another 3.39 million shares traded on the Amex. The Sun's David Baines writes that with 85 million shares out, the company's stock market value is $272-million. Whether this market capitalization fairly reflects the company's true worth is difficult, if not impossible, to determine due to the lack of information released by Crystallex. There is no indication how the joint development will be structured, who will own what, or how capital expenditures and profits will be divided. Crystallex president Marc Oppenheimer told Bloomberg that developing the 12-million-ounce deposit would cost $400-million (U.S.) to $500-million (U.S.) and take 18 to 20 months to build. Toronto's National Post heralded the announcement as a "major coup" for the junior, but there is no indication that an operating contract has actually been negotiated, let alone signed. There is also no indication authorities have agreed to transfer title to the property to Crystallex. (c) Copyright 2002 Canjex Publishing Ltd.