The investment firm Heeney Capital signed an agreement this Wednesday with Venezuelan authorities to operate the Choco mine and export the gold produced in the depositin a project that contemplates an initial investment of up to 1,000 million dollars.
The agreement, signed in Houston, will last 30 years and will allow the American company to work together with Mercuria, an international raw materials trader. Both companies will have rights to market and export the gold extracted from the mine, as confirmed by a spokesperson for Heeney Capital during a press conference cited by Reuters.
The agreement also contemplates a possible extension of its validity, although the companies did not offer details about the conditions of this extension or the planned schedule for the disbursement of the resources.
The announcement comes after Mercuria and Heeney Capital reported marketing agreements linked to gold and other mineral projects in Venezuela in May. According to the information disclosed by Mercuria, these agreements could generate close to 2.2 billion dollars annually in value of mineral exports.
The initiative also contemplates opportunities in sectors such as aluminum, nickel and ferrous products, at a time when the Venezuelan government seeks to attract private capital and international operators to reactivate extractive industries and projects.
Mercuria is also among the companies interested in participating in a possible operation of Venalum, the main aluminum plant in Venezuela. Recent reports noted that talks could include management of the facility and access to the aluminum produced, although a definitive agreement had not been confirmed.
The agreement to operate the Choco mine, located in the El Callao municipality of Bolívar state, thus expands the scope of the relationship between Venezuela and foreign companies interested in its natural resources, particularly in gold, one of the country’s main mining products.
