Crystallex’s Las Cristinas project is “unilaterally terminated”

Crystallex International Corporation announced that the Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana had “unilaterally terminated” the company’s mine operating contract for the Las Cristinas project in Venezuela.

Crystallex shares dropped 40% and finished Monday at just under 10 cents a share. The Canadian Press stated that 8.5 million shares were traded, 36 times the stock’s typical volume.

In citing its reasons for the termination, the CVG said that Crystallex’s did not act to progress the Las Cristinas Project for more than one year and “… for reasons of opportunity and convenience”.

Crystallex believes that is has fully complied with all its obligations under the mine operating contract.

“[The company] and has advanced Las Cristinas to a “shovel ready” state while awaiting the issuance of the Authorization to Affect Natural Resources (the “Permit”) from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (“MinAmb”),” stated Crystallex in a news release.

Crystallex claims that Las Cristinas is one of the world’s largest undeveloped gold deposits with reserves of 16.9 million ounces of gold, contained in a measured and indicated resource of 20.8 million ounces.

In September 2002, Crystallex signed a contract with CVG which granted the company exclusive rights to develop the deposit. SNC Lavalin completed a positive feasibility study in 2003, which was subsequently updated in 2005.