Crystallex Patience Finally Paying Off

The long wait is over…well not quite yet. But investors who have been long shares of Crystallex Corp. (KRY) can finally breath a sigh of relief. The company announced this morning that it received notice from the Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana (”CVG”), that the requirements of the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources of Venezuela (”MinAmb” formerly referred to as “MARN”) for the issuance of an environmental permit to commence construction of the Las Cristinas Project have been fulfilled.

The environmental permit will be issued following the payment of taxes and posting of the bond and the CVX is now awaiting the permit required for the construction of the mine from MinAmb. Mr. Gordon Thompson, Crystallex President and CEO commented,

The request by the Venezuelan Government for the posting of the Compliance Guarantee Bond and taxes further confirms our understanding that we’ve complied with the very final stage of the procedure for receipt of the environmental permit.

Patience has certainly paid off as this has got to be one of the more painful long term holds in recent memory with the bearish media reports and negative Chavez comments that have always seemed to take the wind out of the stock. Though Crystallex is higher by 15.60%, to $4.52 on heavy volume of 8.5 million shares early in today’s session, there is still upside to be seen long term once the market begins focusing its attention on the fourteen million ounces of gold that is expected to be extracted from the mine. And Crystallex shares could also see another pop once the permit is actually issued and work begins at Las Cristinas.

But because there has always been a lot of uncertainty surrounding the stock and it has been difficult to predict the future, you have to be a smart investor and make sure to protect at least some of the pretty hefty gains already realized. Keep in mind that Crystallex shares are up 48.2% since late March in anticipation of this news following fellow Venezuelan miner Gold Reserve Inc.’s (GRZ) receipt of their environmental permit.