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Gold Reserve meets with Environment Ministry regarding Brisas permit
SPOKANE, WA, June 24 /CNW/ - Gold Reserve Inc. (TSX:GRZ - AMEX:GRZ) announced that the Company wa...
About this update from Gold Reserve Ltd.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nSPOKANE, WA, June 24 /CNW/ - Gold Reserve Inc. (TSX:GRZ - AMEX:GRZ)\nannounced that the Company was invited to a meeting held on June 18, 2008 with\nthe Venezuelan Ministry of Environment ("MinAmb"), led by Vice Minister of\nEnvironmental Planning and Administration, Ing. Merly Garcia and assisted by\nlegal advisor Dra. Lucy Vidal. Crystallex International Corporation also\nattended the meeting. According to Vice Minister Garcia, the objective of the\nmeeting was to inform both companies of the decision taken by the government\nto reconsider the permitting process for both projects, subject to meeting\ncertain criteria.\n\n\nVice Minister Garcia requested the parties at the meeting to submit\nindividual proposals to the Ministry regarding further optimizing enhancements\nto the social projects and programs in the area, enhancing the mitigation\nplans from the effect of the current mine plan, and improving the mine closure\nremediation plans at the end of the mine life including remediation of the\npast environmental damage caused by the artisan miners who had worked in the\nvicinity of the project area. Regarding the Company, she indicated that if\nthese issues could be resolved in an acceptable manner to the Ministry this\nwould enable the issuance of the full Permit to Affect. The MinAmb\nrepresentatives stated that the Company's proposal will be reviewed with the\nparticipation of other appropriate entities of the government and asked for a\ntimely response so that this matter could be resolved as quickly as possible.\n\n\nDoug Belanger, president of Gold Reserve, stated, "We believe it is\npremature to predict the outcome of this initiative by the government.\nAlthough we are enthusiastic with MinAmb's initiative, we are also trying to\nreconcile Environmental Minister Ortega's statements related to the potential\nbanning of open pit mining in the Imataca Forest Reserve. The Company is also\nclosely following any changes in mining policies and/or the legal framework in\nVenezuela as has been stated in recent years by the Ministry of Basic\nIndustries and Mines ("MIBAM") to determine any potential impact on the Brisas\nproject.\n\n\nWe believe the Company's sustainable development projects and programs\nsatisfy MinAmb's request in addition to meeting the criteria set by the\nEquator Principles...