It does seem from the GRZ filing that somebody has mentioned combination of LC and Brisas and it does seem odd that it wouldn't have been mentioned at the meeting that both companies attended together. Perhaps it was dismissed out of hand by one or more parties, as was the initial demand by MinAmb to convert both to underground mines.

Any combination would require a significant rewrite of the CVG/KRY contract and probably an exchange of GRZ's concession for a new contract, also probably with the CVG.

However if the government decided they wanted a 50% (or more) share, then the problem is getting the money from them to build the mill. I can envisage a deal where a single mill was jointly owned by all parties and operated as a JV, contracting the processing of all the ore but the pits were mined by the individual companies as separate enterprises. Such a deal could be negotiated in a mining friendly environment where there were clear rules of law, but in Venezuela????