Gold mining is a highly specialized industry that requires not only highly specialized skills and knowledge but also massive foreign investment to find, develop, and extract potential deposits. What convinces centralized governments often unable to execute even the most basic of social services (such as timely and profitable mail delivery) that natural resource development and extraction lies within their realm of expertise? The headline might as well read that Venezuela's resources/potential will be under developed for years to come.
Headline: Venezuela's Chavez: will nationalize gold industry
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday he plans to nationalize the gold sector -- including extraction and processing -- and use the production to pad the country's international reserves. Chavez, speaking on state television, said he would carry out the nationalization through a decree in coming days.
Source: reuters.com
