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8 www.resourceworld.com A P R I L / M A Y 2 0 1 6 Argentina's recent policies might offer some useful pointers for Venezuela, which has been struggling in the face of eco- nomic meltdown on the oil price slump. The late President, Hugo Chavez, initiated a wave of nationalization across the mining sector several years ago, sparking a welter of international court proceedings as com- panies sought recompense. That mattered little to Chavez or his successor, Nicolas Maduro, when the country rode the wave of high oil prices. Now under increased pressure, the gov- ernment appears to be having some second thoughts on its mining policies. For exam- ple, Venezuela and Gold Reserve Inc. [GRZ-TSXV] recently announced a joint- venture agreement to develop the Brisas gold-copper project, which comprises 10.2 million ounces gold and 1.4 billion lbs cop- per as reserves. The company had sought damages on the nationalization of Brisas in H1 2008 and the agreement would bring a lengthy arbitration struggle to a close. Does this herald a rapprochement with mining? Frankly, it's still too early to tell. But if Venezuela does come in from the cold, then it might create a climate for some fantastic exploration and development opportunities. That could then provide much-needed revenues for the country and improved job prospects for many Venezuelans. Below follows just some of the many mining companies operating or advancing projects across the continent. Dynacor Gold Mines Inc. [DNG-TSX] focuses on gold and silver ore-processing as well as exploration in Peru. Its wholly- owned Metallex plant in Huanca, southern Peru, has a capacity of 250 tonnes per day, with the company buying ore from small- scale mining companies as feedstock. On February 17, Dynacor announced produc- tion for 2015 stood at 67,604 ounces. It also unveiled final exploration results on Raise-215 Manto Dorado, including the return of 18.56 g/t gold and 1.33% copper along an 83-metre channel with a width of 1.18 metres. On March 10, the company unveiled additional sampling results from the Manto Dorado structure at Tumipampa. Drift-190 was extended 117 metres to the north- east with a 44-metre mineralized segment that returned an average of 7.99 g/t gold and 0.55% copper, across an average true width of 1.12 metres. The company is also constructing a 300-600 tpd ore processing plant in Chala, southern Peru. Total Capex is estimated at $12.9 million, with building work scheduled to be completed during the first part of 2016. eldorado Gold Corp. [ELD-TSX; EGO-NYSE] holds the Tocantinzinho gold project in the northern Brazilian Tapajos district. Located along a regional northwest trending fault zone, the miner- alization is characterized by fine, irregular vein networks. Effective December 31, 2014, the project had proven reserves of just over 17.5 million tonnes, comprising 1.51 g/t gold for 850,000 ounces con- tained, and probable reserves of almost 24.8 million tonnes at 1.32 g/t for just over 1.05 million ounces contained. Estimated mine life is 11 years at a production rate of 165,000 ounces/year. Eldorado is planning additional opti-