The Gold Reserve statement said that Vice Minister of Environmental Planning and Administration, Ing. Merly Garcia, had requested that Crystallex and Gold Reserve submit individual proposals to the Ministry regarding further optimizing enhancements to the social projects and programs in the area, enhancing mitigation plans to deal with the effects of current mine plans, and improving mine closure remediation plans, including remediation of the past environmental damage caused by the artisan miners who had worked in the vicinity of the project areas.

Doug Belanger, president of Gold Reserve, stated, “We believe it is premature to predict the outcome of this initiative by the government. Although we are enthusiastic with MinAmb’s initiative, we are also trying to reconcile Environmental Minister Ortega’s statements related to the potential banning of open-pit mining in the Imataca Forest Reserve. The company is also closely following any changes in mining policies and/or the legal framework in Venezuela as has been stated in recent years by the Ministry of Basic Industries and Mines to determine any potential impact on the Brisas project.”

The Crystallex statement said, “It is too early for Crystallex to forecast how this issue will be resolved, but it is encouraged by the support from the Venezuelan Government and National Assembly. Crystallex welcomes the opportunity offered by MinAmb to help create additional solutions to the extensive environmental damage that already exists due to illegal mining in the Las Cristinas area, and to improve the project in order to respond to issues raised by MinAmb.”

Meanwhile, Hecla Mining, which in recent years has been Venezuela’s largest gold miner, was first hampered by striking workers demanding that its operations be nationalized. Then, on June 19, the company said it was selling its Venezuelan subsidiaries to Rusoro Mining for $25 million, consisting of $20 million in cash and 4,273,504 shares of Rusoro common stock. Closure of the sale was announced on July 10. The assets included the Isidora mine, the La Camorra mill and exploration properties.

Rusoro is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and has its primary assets in Venezuela. It acquired these assets from Gold Fields, South Africa, in December 2007. The assets include the Choco 10 mine, which will produce about 120,000 oz of gold in 2008, and four advanced gold exploration projects, including properties in the immediate vicinity of the La Camorra mill. Gold Fields now owns about 36% of Rusoro’s shares and is the company’s largest shareholder.

On July 10, immediately following closure of the purchase, Rusoro said it and the Venezuelan government had agreed to establish a 50:50 “mixed enterprise” between Rusoro and a government- owned company to develop the former Hecla assets. The mixed enterprise is expected to be formalized within six months after definitive terms for the enterprise are established.

In a statement announcing the sale of its Venezuelan properties, Hecla President and CEO Phil Baker said the sale was part of a strategy to reduce financing recently raised to acquire its 100% interest in the Greens Creek mine in Alaska. “Our operations in Venezuela were very important to Hecla in the early 2000s, during a time when precious metals prices were depressed. But more recently that operation has become a much smaller proportion of our company’s value, as revenues from our U.S. silver properties grew. In fact, in 2007, the La Camorra unit contributed just 3% of our annual gross profit,” Baker said.

The sale of La Camorra unit is expected to reduce Hecla’s 2008 gold production to about 70,000 oz (from earlier guidance of 115,000 oz), with the majority of that production coming as a by-product from the Greens Creek mine. Baker said, “2008 is a transition year for Hecla as we see a reduction in gold production but an increase in silver production. And while we will not own a primary gold mine, we will continue to consider gold properties in politically secure countries that leverage our expertise as an underground miner.”