Venezuela Rich In Mineral Wealth

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30961, 18 January 1966, Page 15

Venezuela Rich In Mineral Wealth

(N.Z.P. A.'-Reuter) CARACAS. Venezuela, rich in oil is also rich in minerals, but she does not know by just how much. She is, therefore, preparing to spend £1,520,000 next year in an effort to find out.

A series of exploratory studies are being planned for different parts of the country to ascertain the potential of mineral deposits which are known to exist.

The budget for these studies represents a big advance in the importance attached to the country’s mineral wealth, hitherto overshadowed by oil with the exception of iron ore.

At a recent press conference, the Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons outlined the programmes for exploring deposits of magnesite, sulphur, lead, gold, nickel, phosphorite, gypsum, manganese, and zinc. One of the most ambitious of the studies is to be made in a 770 square mile area near the frontier with British Guiana. The area is a remote, jungle-covered, virtually inaccessible territory in the north basin of the river Botamano.

Gold and Diamonds Air surveys using magnetometers have marked out this frontier region as one of the best prospects for the discovery of important deposits of base metals, such as nickel, lead, copper, zinc, cobalt and chrome. The area is also rich in bauxite, gold and manganese, as well as iron and diamonds. Farther to the south-west of the Guinea frontier region, in Bolivar State, the Minister said, there are plans for exploring the deposits of manganese on the right bank of the river Aro.

In the last year or so, Bolivar State has been the scene of a minor gold rush, with thousands of prospectors converging on the area and panning for gold in its numerous rivers. At the other end of this 1750-mile long country bordering Colombia, the Minis-

ter said, a new company was to be formed to exploit the phosphorite and magnesite deposits in Tachira State. The company, to be known as Fostaca, will exploit the minerals for fertiliser purposes.