Just entered yesterday, though with only a small number of shares. A couple of years ago (let's say before 2005) I owned Crystallex and Gold Reserve and so I know very well what the risks are. At that time it already became clear that RML would be the preferred partner for the Venezuela Government.

That by itself is positive but does not necessarily generate cash. The mining laws were still unfavourable to any company operating in Venezuela, whether mining or oil & gas. Now the situation is slowly changing. There are not too many options anymore for the Government of Venezuela. If parties such as Rusoro were to leave because of unfavourable mining laws, then who is going to take the minerals out of the ground?

At the same time, there are quite some issues with mining in Venezuela. Mercury in drinking water has been a massive problem, as well as pools of water that were created by hydrojetting and have now become a breeding place for malaria mosquitos. Then there's issues with native inhabitants who claim that they own the land - just like Zapata who claimed "la tierra es de quien la trabaja", or the earth belongs to those who work/cultivate it.

We've seen around the globe that big companies hunting for minerals in exotic countries are never there to feed the local population, rather their shareholders. This is why I can kind of understand that Venezuela tries to do it differently. The only problem with that is that the local people still do not benefit.

Anyway, it strengthens my confidence that the company is partly Russian-owned. Chavez doesn't have many friends in this world so the last thing he'll do is piss off the Russians.