CARACAS (Dow Jones)--Venezuela wants to boost its flagging mining industry to offset the decline in oil revenue, a process that will include the international certification of its mineral reserves and development of a detailed database of its mineral resources.
Mining Minister Rodolfo Sanz said that Venezuela has "a potential in mineral resources that could make up for the decline in oil prices" and become an important source of income to finance the government's social spending.
"Venezuela until now has developed its mining resources at a very low level," Sanz said in comments broadcast by state television from Iran, where he's accompanying President Hugo Chavez during an official visit.
Sanz added that the government's plans include increasing exploration, elaborating a detailed database of the country's mineral resources and starting the process of international certification of its deposits.
Despite possessing vast mineral resources, investment in the industry has suffered in recent years as international companies trying to operate in Venezuela have been hobbled by bureaucratic obstacles.

-By Darcy Crowe, Dow Jones Newswires; (58) 212 905 6304; darcy.crowe@dowjones.com

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