The Venezuelan government has paid $500 million of the $1.2 billion it owes to Canadian mining company Crystallex International Inc. for avoiding an arbitration award over lost mineral rights, according to court papers.

Crystallex said in a court filing last week that Venezuela on Nov. 23 completed an up-front payment of $425 million, on top of $75 million that it had already turned over, and plans to make steps toward satisfying the rest of judgment by Jan. 10.