Rusoro Mining, Ltd., a Vancouver mining company controlled by Russia’s Agapov family, announced on Wednesday that it has filed an international arbitration case against the Venezuelan government.
Rusoro claims that the company failed to receive payment for gold projects that were nationalized last year. Venezuela has faced more than 20 claims seeking billions of dollars in compensation over seized assets of late, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The Venezuelan government’s actions have resulted in significant loss to the company and its shareholders,” Andre Agapov, the president and CEO of Rusuro, said. “For several months we have attempted to find an amicable resolution to the dispute with the Venezuelan government, but in the end, in light of the government’s apparent unwillingness to look for an amicable resolution, it became the company’s sole recourse to commence international arbitration. Even though we are disappointed that we could not reach an amicable resolution to the dispute, we firmly believe in our arbitration case and the pursuit of fair-value compensation for the loss of our large investment in Venezuela.”
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez expropriated the assets of multiple companies in recent years in an effort to give the state close to complete control over gold production while promising to rewrite partnership terms with private companies. Agapov alleges that Venezuela said it would pay 55 percent of book value plus a premium for products the company owned, a payment that has never been made.
Rusoro had two mines in production in addition to 10 other exploration projects in Venezuela, according to the Wall Street Journal.