by Andrew Willis
Bloomberg.com
Gold Reserve Inc. will get about $770 million as part of a settlement with Venezuela for the 2008 seizure of its Brisas gold and copper project in an arrangement that depends on the country securing financing. Shares surged.
Payment is expected to be made in two installments: $600 million by the end of October and the rest by year-end, the Spokane, Washington-based company said in a statement Monday. Venezuela also agreed to buy the company’s mining data for $240 million and enter into a jointly owned company with Gold Reserve for a 18,000-hectare claim including the Brisas Cristinas deposit.
The statement didn’t say where Venezuela, whose oil-dependent economy has been pummeled by slumping energy prices, would obtain the funding.