MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Venezuela has requested 99 tons of gold holdings from the Bank of England

Chavez has also announced the nationalization of the gold industry

Venezuela’s central bank has requested its 99 tons of gold holdings from the Bank of England, according to a bank statement sent by e-mail, citing the institution’s president Nelson Merentes.

“We’ve contacted the Bank of England and the corresponding protocols have been initiated to complete this operation as soon as possible,” Merentes said, according to the statement. “Once that’s done, the shipments will begin by sea.”

Chavez ordered the central bank Aug. 17 to repatriate 11 billion dollars of gold reserves held in developed nations’ institutions. Venezuela holds 211 tons of its 365 tons of gold reserves in US, European, Canadian and Swiss Banks.

Chavez said he will nationalize the gold industry, including extraction and processing, and use its output to boost the country's international reserves.

The move follows a dispute between his government and foreign miners who say the rules limiting the amount of gold that can be exported from Venezuela hurt their efforts to secure financing and create jobs.

Toronto-listed Rusoro, owned by Russia's Agapov family, is the only large gold miner operating in Venezuela. It produced 100,000 ounces last year.

The gold industry will be just the latest part of the economy to be put under state control by the populist leader, who said he would issue the necessary decree in the coming days and called on the military to help control the sector.

“I have here the laws allowing the state to exploit gold and all related activities ... we are going to nationalize the gold and we are going to convert it, among other things, into international reserves because gold continues to increase in value,” Chávez said in a phone call to state television.