As a combination of a sectoral performance crisis coupled with unrelenting US economic pressure continually reduces Venezuela’s once powerhouse oil & gas sector to the status of an unreliable economic asset, pressure to find options is reportedly compelling the country, increasingly, to look to gold as an economic life raft.
Back in August, sections of the international media were reporting that what has traditionally been a limited but nonetheless lucrative gold-mining industry in Venezuela is beginning to grow at a noticeable rate. Statistics cited by an international media agency recently suggest that land use for mining may have tripled in just over a year and that the sector is likely to grow even further following reports that six rivers in the Bolivar State region are likely to be used to further increase gold extraction.