MINCA - Las Cristinas, Una historia de decepción.

Minera Las Cristinas, C.A. (“MINCA”) was displaced from Las Cristinas concessions after years of efforts and major investments to develop them; after working shoulder to shoulder with the people of the South of Guayana and giving their support to the CVG, the MEM (today MIBAM) and the interests of the State in view of the baseless demands of competitors whose purpose it was to take advantage of MINCA's efforts and investments, thus causing the paralyzation and delay of the project.

MINCA has been the only company that has invested in the construction of works of infrastructure at Las Cristinas, in social development programs and towards the achievement of social and economic progress for the development of the region. With on investment of more than $ 175 million, MINCA assured for the Venezuelan Nation the most important gold reservoir with proven reserves

MINCA trusts that before the first semester of 2007 ends, there may be a resolution that reinstates its rights to Las Cristinas and puts an end to the controversies that have been affecting the development of the concessions. The certainly of this possibility has made MINCA to continue being a victim of evilly-disposed press campaigns that only seek to avoid the dialogue between MINCA and the State authorities in order to reach a solution on Las Cristinas.

For MINCA, it is obvious that these campaigns can only be driven by private interests that fear a sincere commitment and that only subsist by creating confusion.

Investments made by MINCA for the development of Las Cristinas

Minca invested more than 175 million dollars to convert the reservoir of Las Cristinas from a mining potential to a deposit with proven and exploitable reserves with a value exceeding US$ 5 billion.

Execution of the exploration and feasibility study of the areas, building the camp, construction of the processing plant for small mining, an electricity plant for the concession, communications systems and other infrastructure.

Execute social programs for the sustainable development of the area and the training of qualified labor, as well as programs for environmental recovery, all with the participation of the communities, the municipanlity and non-government organizations.

Among the achievements made thanks to MINCA’s support between 1993 and 2001, are the following:

- Exploratory technical data, which is the core of the project's technical and economic feasibility.
- Building mining camps with a capacity for 2,000 employees.
- Construction of Los Rojas Plant for the benefit of the small miners' associations.
- Construction of landing strip.
- Construction and recurring funding for the Humanitarian Health Center at Las Claritas.
- Construction of roads and accesses.
- Generating more than 1,000,000 man/hours of various works.
- 1,200 drilling made.
- Evaluate 155,000 meters of survey points.
- Processing 10,000 samples of material.
- Contributions for the expansion of schools and building a pre-school.
- Drinking water system for the communities.
- Electric lighting for the communities.
- Road maintenance.
- Support Malariology program

Events that affected the project:

Since 1997, MINCA’s work was disrupted and even paralyzed by continued claims made by company Crystallex against CVG, MEM (today MIBAM), requesting the cancellation of the State's rights over the concessions, and although the Supreme Court decide in 1998 that said company lacked legal standing and declared that it had no right, this company insisted with new claims that it maintained active until 2003, which have been hindering the execution of the project.

To this date, no material or relevant value has been added to Las Cristinas. The crisis affecting the region since 2002 to this dale is but consequence of MINCA’s work disruptions and its impossibility to conduct a stable operation that creates jobs in the area.

Since 2002, the concessions of Las Cristinas have only served as a channel for a few persons to benefit from Stock Exchange transactions, while the people of Guayana only have promises, unemployment, crisis and violence.

MINCA has shown at all times its will to have a dialogue and commitments with the Slate, asking the high authorities for the chance to reach a solution to this situation that has frozen the development of Los Cristinas, in a way that warrants the achievement of the goals of the State and all parties involved.