Defending Fung's managerial style ... "not to mention the lunacy of Hugo Chavez!"
VHeadline editor & publisher Roy S. Carson writes: Stalwart Crystallex International (KRY) shareholders are holding onto the fading hope that the Toronto-based junior mining company is to make any headway with the Venezuelan government over its controversial claim to a "cast iron" mine operating contract (MOC) to dig for gold at the controversial Las Cristinas gold mine in south-eastern Venezuela.
Earlier, stockholders had had hopes of an immediate solution to their long-standing problem of getting the final permit to mine with a proposal to give away a huge chunk of the company to Chinese interests to form a private joint venture, presumably hoping that the Chinese would have a greater impact on President Hugo Chavez to surrender to their hearts' desire.
Seeking clarifications, it had even been ventured that high-ranking officials at Venezuela's Basic Industries & Mining (Mibam) and Environment (MinAmb) Ministries might be influenced by a merger between Crystallex and Spokane-USA-based Gold Reserve to yield a larger (and ultimately more attractive) mining unit, but Crystallex executives have denied the possibility of any such merger and clarified that there has been no request from the Venezuelan side of the negotiating table for MOC changes to be made.
A much-vaunted give-away to Chinese Railways (CREC) had been deadlined for the fall of 2010 but is apparently conditioned upon Crystallex getting the final permit, which appears to be just as far from completion as it was two years ago (December 17, 2008) when a former Crystallex general manager in Venezuela said that the company didn't have "a cat in hell's chance" of getting final clearances.
Meanwhile Crystallex vice president A. Richard Marshall has told shareholders that high-ranking Venezuelan officials have remained silent about what (if any) obstacles there may be to full and final issuance of the much-needed permit (other than a previously issued refusal to issue it!) and insists that the company is "often in talks with high level officials in Venezuela" without giving any further details.
Tendering the possibility that Marshall is being "kept out of the loop to be able to deflect questions" from concerned shareholders, internet chat forums quote Marshall as saying -- even at this extended stage of the proceedings -- that Crystallex International and its Chinese 'partners' are "hopeful the talks with Venezuela would lead to closing the deal on the joint venture."
As for Marshall himself, one shareholder ventures "he's often put in a corner having to defend the decisions and managerial style of Bob Fung ... not to mention the lunacy of Hugo Chavez!"
Crystallex was quoted at 0.26 down from a 52-week high of 0.77
Roy S. Carson
editor@vheadline.com
