Petaquilla

Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. (TSX:PTQ)(OTCBB:PTQMF)(FRANKFURT:P7Z)(the “Company”) is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Petaquilla Gold, S.A., a signatory of the International Cyanide Management Code (the “Code”), has been audited by a lead auditor and a technical expert as part of the final process to become certified by the International Cyanide Management Institute (“ICMI”).

Companies that are signatories to the Code must have their operations audited by an independent third party to demonstrate their compliance with the Code. In this regard, Petaquilla Gold, S.A., once certified by the ICMI, will join only 14 other gold mining companies worldwide possessing this certification.

Within the next two months the technical expert will conclude a final review of the Company’s Molejon Gold Project to confirm compliance with minor recommendations prior to submitting the final report to ICMI for issuance of the official certification.

The ICMI was established to administer the Code, to promote the Code’s adoption and implementation, to evaluate its implementation, to manage the certification process and to make information on safe cyanide management practices widely available.

The Code is a voluntary industry program covering the manufacture, transport and use of cyanide in the gold mining industry. The Company supports the promotion of responsible management of cyanide used in gold mining for the purpose of enhancing the protection of human health and reducing the potential of environmental impacts.

About Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. Petaquilla is a growing, diversified gold producer committed to maximizing shareholder value through a strategy of efficient production, targeted exploration and select acquisitions. The Company operates a surface gold processing plant at its Molejon Gold Project, located in the south central area of its 100% owned 842 square kilometre concession lands in Panama – a region known historically for gold content. In addition, the Company has acquired 100% of the Lomero-Poyatos project located in the northeast part of the Spanish/Portuguese (Iberian) Pyrite Belt and several other exploration licenses in Iberia.

Julio Cèsar Aizprùa

De La Prensa

En Panamá

En lo que va de 1994 la industria minera ha invertido 24 millones de dólares en Panamá, mientras que el año pasado la inversión sólo fue de 5 millones de dólares,

Reveló la directora general de la Dirección de Recursos Minerales del Ministerio de Comercio e Industrias, Francia de Sierra.

La funcionaria informó que la inversión aumentará, pues para el mes de junio entrará en producción la mina de Santa Rosa, ubicada en Cañazas, provincia de Veraguas.

Respecto a las perspectivas de la industria minera en Panamá, de Sierra dijo que en el mes de abril se hará un estudio de la geología en el país, así como un inventario de toda la infraestructura con que cuenta la nación para desarrollar esta industria.

Este estudio tendrá un costo total de 10 a 15 millones de dólares, y el mismo será realizado en su totalidad por geólogos panameños.

La etapa de factibilidad de dicho proyecto tiene un costo de 450 mil dólares, cantidad que forma parte de un fondo no reembolsable donado por el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, apuntó.

La directora general de la Dirección de Recursos Minerales del Ministerio de Comercio e Industrias, agregó que esa dependencia recibe diariamente cerca de seis solicitudes para concesiones mineras y a la fecha ha otorgado 100, mientras que en 1993 se expidieron solamente 50 solicitudes.

Respecto al impacto ambiental que causan las minas en las poblaciones cercanas, de Sierra detalló que desde 1991 se implementó un estudio ambiental, previo al otorgamiento de la concesión, y el mismo contempla un preliminar, un reconocimiento ambiental y un estudio de viabilidad ambiental.

Una vez hecho el informe ambiental, el mismo es evaluado por la Comisión de Evaluación de Estudios Ambientales del Instituto de Recursos Naturales Renovables (INRENARE), quien da su comentario y luego se determina si se otorga o no la concesión minera.

Socio-Economic Development

Every year Petaquilla Gold spends a percentage of its profit on social investment projects and precious amounts of time working with communities. The ultimate goals of the project are to help alleviate economic distress in the area, promote health, education and further community development.

Every operation in Petaquilla Gold supports social investment in host communities. We use our trajectory and expertise to determine local needs and priorities in order to solve these situations. There are a number of dedicated foundations that support social projects, among them Fundacion Castilla de Oro strives to promote cultural development in the isthmus. This foundation is one of the global efforts by Petaquilla Gold to develop sustainable progress in the region.

Petaquilla’s mandate is to support development initiatives aimed at bringing new hope and opportunity to Panama’s disadvantaged communities in the provinces of Cocle and Colon. The company has an effective strategy – refocusing its contributions on projects with national impact.

Education is one of the largest and most important sectors in need of development. A large proportion of the Company’s funds go to projects and programs that support the progress of the schooling system and its infrastructural development. Funding is aimed at improving education facilities, providing a computer center and equipping the schools with better materials for children to benefit.

When it comes to safekeeping the health of its employees, Petaquilla takes a holistic approach to addressing the multiple impacts that can influence a person’s wellbeing. It has among many of its efforts contributed by building additional public health facilities and sponsoring prevention programs to improve the current situation in nearby towns.

Similarly, Petaquilla Gold is carrying out initiatives in the entrepreneurial, arts and environment sectors which offer training create awareness and lobby for social changes and have created continuous development and improvement in Panama.

Petaquilla employees drink water from rivers nearby the mine to show that there is no contamination

Carlos Salazar -  Petaquilla

RAMOS Torrera Lineth – El Siglo
Representatives of the Petaquilla Gold mine rejected the arguments of farmers and environmentalists about the pollution of the Coclesito river and to prove it they bathed in the water and even drank water directly from river.
Carlos Salazar, in the presence of the media, bathed in the river with his son and public relations representative Fernando Rodriguez. “Petaquilla is accused of having polluted rivers, mainly Coclesito without scientific evidence, and have alarmed the people to later interview them.” said Salazar.
842 square Km is mine Molejón 300 thousand cubic meters has the tub.
He stated that the mining company is not using seven tons of cyanide and is not destroying the water sources in the region, as stated by the environmentalists.   He explained that in the operational phase they have taken advantage of the high level of rainfall, which increased levels of the tub of tailings, to say that there was spill, which is not true.
They also argued that theoretically the mine consumes 1800 cubic meters of water a day because the tub has a pumping capacity of 45 cubic meters per hour, but as rain fills it, they do not get to use 45 cubic meters, or much less 1800 per day.
Salazar said that Coclesito water can be consumed, although environmentalists accuse Petaquilla of having contaminated the water.
Leak
They say there is no danger to the level of landslide tubs
Location
They are in District Molejón Donoso
Research
Ancon Anam and take samples of water from nearby rivers

History shows that of 100 applications for exploration, two become mines and so Panama at its best will have 6-7 mines, which would have a surface of 3.500 to 4000 hectares, equivalent to 40 square kilometers, said Salazar.
It was a challenge without proof
The environmental Raisa Bainfield said she saw no evidence that Salazar was drinking water from the affected rivers.    “That bathing and drinking water from the rivers has no merit. That was will determine whether there is contamination or not is a committee of national experts that investigates the mine, and I say international because the government is biased in this issue, “said Bainfield, while trying to establish her theory that the mine is detrimental to the community.