Hoo Boy!

Here's some bad news for anyone who owns a Bolivian-based silver stock...

LA PAZ, Bolivia, May 2 (Reuters) - A day after Bolivia's president said the
nationalization of the energy sector was "just the start," the country's vice
president said on Tuesday the state wanted more control of the mining industry.

"The big mining companies have to pay more taxes ... the current rate is too low," Garcia told local radio. "There aren't going to be company expropriations ... but we are going to assume a greater level of state control."

You'll remember that the shares of Apex Silver and others tanked on Tuesday after the Bolivian government nationalized the oil and gas industry.

"We've been assured by various members of the Bolivian government that the
investment being made in San Cristobal will be honored and that has
reassured us," Apex Silver Chief Operating Officer Alan Edwards, told
Reuters by telephone.

Oh.. well THAT'S reassuring!

How bad is this? It's so bad, Barrick Gold says Pakistan is a more stable place to do business than Bolivia or Venezuela.

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