By 2009, the Venezuelan government plans to nationalize the Las Cristinas gold mine, which is estimated to have the largest gold deposits in the country and is currently conceded to the Canadian company Crystallex, the Minister of Basic Industries and Mining (MIBAM), Rodolfo Sanz, announced Tuesday. "We hope to exploit the Las Cristinas mine, which was previously owned by the transnational [company] Crystallex, by 2009," said Sanz in a radio interview. Las Cristinas, located in a section of the Imataca Forest National Park in southeastern Bolívar state, is Crystallex's principal asset in Venezuela, according to company financial reports. Venezuela's state mining corporation, CVG, conceded the Las Cristinas mine to Crystallex in 2002, but did not provide final approval for its operation. In June, after a hearing in the Venezuelan National Assembly, Crystallex assured its shareholders that several government ministries support its participation in Las Cristinas.