<a href=www.canada.com>Canadian Press Monday, March 31, 2003

VANCOUVER (CP) - Crystallex International Corp. says there are 9.5 million ounces of potential gold reserves at the Las Cristinas deposit, a Venezuelan property the company is developing but which a rival company is also claiming.

Crystallex said Monday that potential yield from the Las Cristinas deposit in Bolivar State, Venezuela - which Vancouver miner Vanessa Ventures Ltd. is also claiming - is higher than original estimates of proved and probable reserves. However, news of the higher estimates failed to ignite interest in Crystallex's stock, which fell three cents to $1.54 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Vancouver-based Crystallex announced in September that it had taken possession of the Las Cristinas property, which is considered one of the world's largest undeveloped gold deposits. The announcement came after Vanessa Ventures said the Venezuelan Supreme Court will examine two legal actions in a dispute over ownership of Las Cristinas.

A Vanessa subsidiary in the South American country has alleged that a contract between Crystallex and state-owned Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana violates Venezuela's constitution and its mining law on details of foreign ownership.

In mid-March, Vanessa said it was preparing a comprehensive update on the Las Cristinas legal issues for its shareholders. The company also criticized Crystallex for its claims on the property, saying that Crystallex's "statements either contain the facts veiled in misleading language or omit the facts altogether and present false information."

Crystallex said Monday that the latest estimates on the Las Cristinas mine were conducted by Mine Development Associates of Reno, Nev.

"The data confirms that Las Cristinas is one of the world's largest undeveloped gold deposits with excellent potential to grow in size," Crystallex CEO Marc Oppenheimer said in a release.

Crystallex said Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., one of the world's biggest engineering companies, has already begun work on a feasibility study for the development and construction of the mine and a processing mill.

The first phase of development at Las Cristinas is expected to cost $150 million US. Over time, all three development phases will cost $430 million US.

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WALL STREET BUYERS bided their time Thursday, worried that the war could take much longer than they bargained for. Iraq's refusal to crack under the initial blitz and its success in waging guerilla attacks on coalition supply lines have more and more U.S. commanders speculating that the fighting could last many weeks, maybe months, according to the Washington Post. Its story crystallized the doubts and second-guessing that have shadowed the war effort in recent days.

President George Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair pointedly refused to discuss timetables at a press conference following their Camp David war council. "We will carry on until the job is done. But there is absolutely no point, in my view, of trying to set a time limit or speculate on it," Blair said.

There are already some murmurs in the ranks. "Tell me how this ends," one senior Pentagon officer asked the Post, sounding notably less confident than his bosses.

Traders were not well qualified to answer that question, which is why the Dow finished the session down 28 points to 8201. The Nasdaq retreated 3 to 1384, while the S&P 500 ducked a point to 868.

The selling, never especially brisk, abated notably in the afternoon, then picked up a bit as the closing bell neared. At no point did it panic the momentum players betting on another leg higher.

Airline and aluminum shares continued to struggle. Alcoa (AA), SBC Communications (SBC) and International Paper (IP) dragged down the Dow with drops of nearly 3% apiece.

The strongest blue chip belonged to Dow dog McDonald's (MCD), which gained 2% on hopes that the flabby fast-food chain will disgorge secondary franchises such as Boston Market and Donatos Pizzeria.

Oil drillers were the best-performing sector as the price of U.S. crude for May delivery rose another 6%, topping $30 a barrel. A long interruption of Iraqi oil deliveries would squeeze a supply chain already choked by ethnic violence in Nigeria and the aftermath of the strike in Venezuela. "Inventories need to start climbing very sharply to give any chance of avoiding a huge spike in gasoline prices," a J.P. Morgan analyst told Reuters.

Persistently high fuel prices could be the final straw for airlines coping with a 10% drop in traffic from unimpressive prewar levels. Continental's (CAL) U.S. bookings are down 20%, while its international business has slumped 40%.

The airline warned of "significant losses for the foreseeable future," not that Wall Street was expecting any different. It also revealed that the boss got an 82% pay raise to $7.6 million last year. The stock fell 7%.

High oil prices should be a boon for big supplier ChevronTexaco (CVX). But that stock fell 1% after the company previewed up to $300 million in upcoming after-tax charges for an accounting change and higher pension costs.

In contrast, Tommy Hilfiger (TOM) shares strutted to a 24% gain on a Wall Street Journal report that clothing maker Jones Apparel Group (JNY) is considering a winsomely wholesome buyout.

Whereas Robert Mondavi (MOND) shares spilled 6% after the wine maker warned it was fermenting a net loss and less than half the pro-forma quarterly profit it had forecast. The weak economy is diluting sales.

Shares of Steel Technologies (STTX) corroded 8% after the mill operator cut its own quarterly outlook roughly in half, citing weak sales and margins.

That news came as the World Trade Organization issued an interim ruling against U.S. steel tariffs.

Economic data got short shrift from traders fixated on a distant war. Unemployment claims fell 25,000 to a still-high 402,000 last week. The economy was confirmed to have grown at an annual pace of 1.4% in fourth quarter, back when Iraq was less of an issue.

Bonds inched up. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 3.92% from Wednesday's 3.93%. The two-year note yielded 1.61%, down from 1.62% a day earlier.

SmartMoney.com © 2003 SmartMoney. SmartMoney is a joint publishing venture of Dow Jones Company, Inc. and Hearst Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All quotes delayed by 20 minutes. Delayed quotes provided by S&P Comstock. Historical prices and fundamental data provided by Media General Financial Services. Mutual fund data provided by Morningstar. Mutual Fund NAVs are as of previous day's close. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks Investment Research. Insider trading data provided by Thomson Financial. Upgrades and downgrades provided by Briefing.com.

Reciba un saludo cordial, en nombre del Consejo Directivo de Sinergia, Asociación Nacional de Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil, en la oportunidad de invitarle al foro "El Poder Electoral: Desafío de la democracia venezolana", organizado en el marco del programa Venezuela: Iniciativa para la Construcción de Confianza (VICC).

Este foro tiene por objeto contribuir en el proceso de relegitimación del Poder Electoral, mediante la difusión de información concerniente a los diversos actores que participan en la conformación del mismo y la incidencia de éstos en los eventos electorales, llamados a contribuir en la solución democrática de la crisis que afronta el país.

Tenemos especial interés en que nos honre con su participación en este espacio, no sólo por los aportes que pueda proporcionar como miembro de su institución, sino de manera especial, por el interés que sabemos que usted tiene en contribuir en la común tarea de construir posibilidades pacíficas e institucionales que fortalezcan la democracia venezolana.

Seguro de contar con su diligente atención a esta invitación, le reitero nuestro sentimiento de alta estima.

Atentamente, Armando Janssens Presidente de Sinergia

Hotel Caracas Hilton, Salón Cedro–Samán, Entrada libre. Cupos limitados, por lo que agradecemos confirmar su asistencia a través del 576 27 44 / 571 89 31 o por vía electrónica: sinergia@cantv.net

PROGRAMA

Instalación:

Padre Armando Janssens, Presidente de Sinergia Excelentísimo Señor Charles Shapiro, Embajador de los EE.UU.

Ponencias:

El rol del CNE- Alfredo Avella, Presidente del CNE Aspectos más relevantes de la normativa jurídica del Poder Electoral, condiciones organizacionales y su relación con las diversas instituciones que determinan el buen logro de los eventos electorales

El rol de la comunidad internacional - Fernando Jaramillo, Jefe del Gabinete de la OEA Importancia de la relegitimación del Poder Electoral, desde la perspectiva de la comunidad internacional, como instrumento para la solución democrática del la actual coyuntura venezolana

El rol del Poder Legislativo - Diputado Omar Mezza, Miembro del Comité de Postulaciones. Informe sobre el proceso de relegitimación del Poder Electoral de acuerdo con la ley que lo rige y los criterios de elegibilidad en el proceso de elección de los rectores del CNE.

El rol de la sociedad civil - Leonardo Pizani, Directivo del CNE. La participación ciudadana en el Poder Electoral

Andrés Coba - A.C. Queremos Elegir. Perspectiva ciudadana en el proceso de relegitimación del Poder Electoral

Moderadora: Miriam Kornblith, Investigadora del IESA y de la UCV

From: voluntario@sumate.org

Recibe un cordial saludo en la oportunidad de retomar nuestro contacto y agradecerte, una vez más, tu apoyo a las iniciativas emprendidas por Súmate.

En referencia a los Programas en marcha, te informamos que luego de EL FIRMAZO, hemos continuado avanzando en la clasificación, digitación, encuadernación y custodia de todos los instrumentos que los venezolanos firmamos durante EL FIRMAZO, a la espera de ser introducidos al Consejo Nacional Electoral, en el momento que lo decidan las fuerzas opositoras al Gobierno.

Continuando en la misma línea de acción, estamos diseñando un mecanismo para preservar y mejorar la integridad del Registro Electoral Permanente, y pensamos nos podrías ayudar en esta primera fase de la siguiente manera:

Investiga en tu entorno familiar y de amistades sobre aquellos allegados fallecidos de nacionalidad venezolana, los números de cédulas de identidad, nombres y apellidos, fecha de nacimiento y año de defunción. Accede a la página www.cne.gov.ve, en la sección de “Búsquedas”. Introduce cada cédula de identidad y el producto de esta información transcríbelo al formulario (application/msword, 29 KB)

que acompaña este mensaje, luego reenvíanoslo.

Gracias por tu colaboración, Súmate.

NOTA: Es importante nos envíes la información de cada persona que hayas buscado en la base de datos, indistintamente si esas personas aparecen o no en el Registro Electoral Permanente. Igualmente es importante resaltar que en caso que no cuentes con datos como la fecha de nacimiento o el año de defunción, no dejes de verificar con el número de la cédula de identidad si la persona aparece o no con el resto de los datos que poseas.