Venezuela’s National Assembly has approved a major new mining law that opens the country’s tightly controlled mining sector to more private and foreign investment, in what analysts see as a significant economic policy shift. The bill was approved this week and is expected to move through final legal review/signature stages soon. (Reuters)
The reform is backed by interim President Delcy Rodríguez and is designed to encourage outside companies to invest in extracting Venezuela’s mineral resources. The country hopes the move will help modernize production and bring new money into the economy.
The law focuses especially on Venezuela’s large gold reserves, but also opens opportunities involving:
- rare earth elements
- iron
- copper
- nickel
- coal
- bauxite
- coltan
Supporters say the plan could help Venezuela rely less on oil by diversifying its economy and developing other natural-resource industries.
This comes after similar reforms earlier this year aimed at making Venezuela’s oil industry more attractive to foreign businesses.
Overall, the government is presenting the mining reform as part of a broader strategy to rebuild the economy by attracting international investors and turning more of Venezuela’s natural resources into export revenue.
Source: Newstimehub
