Gold Reserve Gets Brisas Mine Permit

Spokane-based Gold Reserve Corp. gained a crucial permit Wednesday in its development of the Brisas gold mine concession.

The Venezuelan Ministry of Energy and Mines granted Gold Reserve the underground or “veta” rights to the gold and copper at Brisas, located in southeastern Venezuela.

Gold Reserve fought in court to gain the concession and surface rights to Brisas, and has been drilling there for several years.

The deposit contains as much as 5.5 million ounces of gold and 726 million pounds of copper. Gold Reserve hopes to have a feasibility study completed by next spring and make a decision on whether to develop a mine there by mid-1997, said A. Douglas Belanger of Gold Reserve.

“We intend to develop it on our own,” he said, but the company will consider any offers by other companies to help develop the mine. “A lot of large companies are looking for deposits like this one because they’re hard to come by.”

Drilling continues at the site, with the potential to add more gold and copper ounces to the already sizeable find, Belanger said.

Gold Reserve’s stock gained 38 cents Wednesday to close at $9 a share.

, DataTimes