Venezuela’s acting president signs new mining law to attract more investment

A new mining law passed by Venezuela’s parliament this month has been signed into law by acting President Delcy Rodriguez, according to state media.

State broadcaster VTV reported on Friday that Rodriguez announced the signing during a meeting with economic officials in the capital Caracas, saying the legislation is expected to attract increased investment in the country’s mining sector.

“The Organic Mining Law has entered into force as of this moment. Here it is, I hand over to the Venezuelan people this law that will allow us to attract important investments,” she said.

Rodriguez also thanked US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their approach toward strengthening diplomatic and economic cooperation with Venezuela.

“The purpose of this law is to ensure that all investment, development, production and marketing processes in the mining sector are carried out in a fully coordinated and harmonized manner, thereby aiming to achieve much higher performance,” she said.

The legislation, which passed parliament unanimously, is aimed at expanding the role of domestic and foreign companies in extracting strategic minerals and modernizing Venezuela’s mining sector, which authorities hope will diversify revenue sources beyond oil.

The move follows another reform adopted in late January, when parliament unanimously approved measures designed to facilitate foreign participation in Venezuela’s oil industry.

The moves follow a Jan. 3 US military operation that captured former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and took him to the US to face narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking charges.

Venezuela is believed to hold some of the world’s largest gold reserves and also possesses significant deposits of rare earth elements and critical minerals, including bauxite, iron, coal, copper, nickel, and coltan, which officials say could play a key role in boosting the country’s economy.