Executive decreed coltan as a strategic mineral for the nation

The President of the Republic, Nicolas Maduro, signed on Friday a decree reserving for the Venezuelan State the exploration and exploitation activities of coltan as a strategic mineral for the country’s economic development.
“For strategic industries, for the vision of future and for its great wealth (…) This decree gives to the State the (exclusive rights on) exploration and exploitation of coltan as a strategic mineral and puts it under the same conditions as gold”, reads the text, read by the Minister for the Mining Arch, Ricardo Mirabal.