The editorial of the newsletter of Guacamaya Verde, published every two months by the company Petaquilla Gold, S.A., whose leader is the businessman Richard Fifer-Carles, in his eagerness to contribute to the debate of ideas in a healthy and constructive way, said that the nation should not maintain itself in the margins of the modern legislations about mining that have been developed in country of the regions, “because you cannot maintain mining activity in general, prisoner of a legislation that is obsolete in every way”.

Faced with this hard reality, he highlights in two columns on its front page “Guacamaya Verde”, that in the present time this legislation does not move accordingly to a criteria of equity in a economic, social and human development plan, which favorable position suggests the law should be reformed.

One of the recurrent complaints about beach tourism is that visitors are offered “all inclusive” packages whose bulky incomes do not trickle directly to the communities where these big hotels are. The boom that is generated does reach rural areas.

This is how executive director of Castilla del Oro Foundation, Jorge Isaac Obon, puts it noting that in the province of Cocle there has been a major tourist development, but all-inclusive resorts, to which visitors arrive do not depart to visit the surrounding communities because they are offered everything at the place where they stay. “So, money from tourism does not permeate these communities,” he added.

Therefore, with entrepreneur Richard Fifer Carles’s vision, the intention of Castilla del Oro Foundation is to get those tourists from the hotels and bring them to know the surrounding provinces.

The “Adopt your godson” program, that executes the department of social development of the Petaquilla Foundation, is one of the pillars of the Social Responsibility that since it was created it has assisted hundreds of kids and girls from the communities that are close to the mining project.

This program from the Petaquilla Gold S.A. company created by the engineer Richard FIfer-Carles, which main asset is the human solidarity principle and to help improve somehow the life quality and kid-young development of hundreds of kids and teenagers that have less possibilities, it consist of adopting a boy or a girl of the communities that are part of the District of Donoso.

On this matter, the collaborator of the company in a spontaneous manner and by its own initiative decides to assist one or more kids during the whole year, supporting it specially during important and unforgettable dates for the kids and teens, like the first day of class, its birthday, children’s day, Christmas or Magic Kings day.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

La Castilla del Oro Foundation in Belén

Julyo  2011

Cristóbal Colón, La Castilla del Oro Foundation President in Spain, has been to Belén –Panamá-, like 500 years ago his admiral predecessor did. The twentieth Duke of Veragua in  his visit to Panama emphasized the possibility of La Castilla del Oro development .

“The sustainable development of the region can not be linked to a single project; that is why, with the Foundation, we will try to donate tools that through Spiritual Tourism, may incite the sustainable development of the zone. Richard Fifer – Carles, had the vision and has proposed to us, the setting in motion; that is were we are. The possibilities are countless, without a doubt the most important thing in this adventure is the support that we have from La Castilla del Oro inhabitants. We will have bridges between Panama and Spain, seeking to join the best  tourism practices. We have been doing this very well for many years now inn Spain and we will try to take advantage of this situation”, commented Cristóbal Colón.

Cristóbal Colón, La Castilla del Oro Foundation President in Spain, could accomplish his dream of visiting the region of Belén, the coastal municipality his discovering predecessor arrived to more than 500 years ago.

The new neighborhoods, commercial centers that have opened, the sales in the businesses; all is a product of the prosperity that the mining activity has brought to Penonomé.

The SIP opinion column, that unfolds like a payed ad in the Panamá América newspaper in the “Nación” section on page six, reports that when asked Who is their best client? the Penonomenian businessmen answer it is the Petaquilla mine followed  by the beach hotels.

But the Petaquilla Gold S.A. mine´s scope –led by impresario Richard Fifer Carles- is not only in the economic aspect, but also the cultural, educational and social, making contributions through the Castilla del Oro Foundation in the Tourism sector and the Petaquilla Foundation, executor arm of the Business Social Responsibility Program, which collaborate with the development of rural communities in the interior of the country.

The housing improvement (as shown in the picture above) is part of the Petaquilla Company Social Responsibility Program. This is how dozens of residents of different communities near the mining Project have been benefiting from the full or partial remodeling of their homes.

One of the company’s objectives is to constantantly remain in contact with the local people in order to integrate them into the different programs that the Petaquilla Foundation has prepared for them.

Richard Fifer- Carles, manager at Petaquilla has a special interest in the Company bonding tightly with the communities surrounding the mining project and has prepared a series of activities with the sole purpose of strengthening ties of cooperation between the parties, company-community.

So far, over ten projects have been successfully implemented.

LA CASTILLA DEL ORO FOUNDATION: A SUSTAINABLE PROJECT

“Others already have ecologic tourism”

Madrid, September 2011

La Castilla del Oro Foundation has long-term vision as confirmed by the development of the spiritual tourism promoted in central Panama. The foundation’s president in Panama, Pascual Montañés, says “others already have the eco-tourism brand.”

LA CASTILLA DEL ORO IS DIFERENT

¨What we at La Castilla del Oro want is to put the mark of a different kind of tourism, a life-experience tourism involving all five senses. A tourism -if I may use the expression- of spirituality. The area of ??La Castilla del Oro is ready to do so. It has a spectacle of human biodiversity which makes it very different and that, to us, makes it even more attractive.¨

As a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility program, the Petaquilla Gold S.A. company, develops the laying hens Project that allow families living near to the Project to raise poultry take advantage of their products and commercialize them.

There might be criticism toward development projects like the one of Petaquilla Gold, S. A., in the area of Donoso, in the province of Colon, but what no one can deny is the great support that the municipalities provide in the matters of infrastructure and social program.

The mayor of La Pintada district, Enrique Barahona, recognizes that today’s technological advances allow these mega projects to happen, with a moderate impact on the environment.

He pointed out that this and another project that are located in Donoso, district of La Pintada are impacted because it is through this sector where vehicles pass through when traveling to the mine.

Petaquilla Gold, S. A. is a mining project headed by businessman Richard Fifer Carles, who besides exploiting the mineral wealth in the area of Molejon, also promotes important social programs, through the Petaquilla Foundation, and others of tourism development with the Castilla del Oro Foundation.

Barahona recognized that “something is left for us from the mine, so to speak. We cannot lose the opportunity and I will take the opportunity to thank the mining projects for some of the things that in social matters, they have cooperated with. For example, the assistance and support that they have provided the schools, one or another path opened by the machinery.  We can’t overlook this acknowledgement”.

He recognized that there is a concern in regard to the reforms to the Mineral Resources Code, its impact and the millions that will be entering the treasury.

“The projection, that matters to me as a mayor, in regard to my district, is to improve the economy of our district, to develop our district.  How much?  Don’t ask me right now.  But that is my projection as the mayor. A long time ago, the worry on my shoulders and that still rests upon them, is whether the mining projects, for us: La Pintada and Colon, would only be an opportunity that we didn’t take advantage of”, stated the mayor.

In that sense Barahona said that as a mayor he would like part of the income that will be generated, to go directly to La Pintada, because in one way or another, this district is impacted by the mine.

“How are these funds going to be handled?  In a centralized or decentralized manner?”, pointed out the mayor when expressing that hopefully they will maintain the position that this income must have effect, in accordance and seriously in the society of these towns.

He emphasized that he expects these projects to not only make foreign companies richer, “and that it does not happen as we experienced several years ago, that the foreigners came, to mention more precisely, the Spaniards, took all the gold and the Indians in Panama were left only watching.  May it be the will of God that this does not happen to us”.

PETAQUILLA GOLD S.A. WORKS FOR ITS COMMUNITY

Sustainable mining is possible

Rural Hospital of Coclesito, constructed by the company Petaquilla Gold, S.A., lead by the businessman Richard Fifer-Carles, which bring primary health care facilities to the citizens of the nearby and not nearby communities to the project.

It may sound as a myth or utopia, but in a changing and competitive world that imposes development and technologies it’s possible to talk about sustainable mining, a completely different image to the one stigmatized and over calculated by the groups that reject this activity.

“There is a lot of literature and technical studies that touch this subject of a possible sustainable mining”, said the representative of TNC for Panama and Costa Rica, Mayte Gonzalez, in the article titled “The debate of environmental mining”, published in the magazine that was edited by the National Association of the Conservation of Nature (ANCON) with motive of its 25^th foundation anniversary.

She mentioned the initiative towards a sustainable mining promoted by the Mining Association of Canada and participating companies, that is oriented to elevate the reputation of the Canadian mining industry by improving the operative actions, especially those in the social and environment subject, she added.

Dijo que también el Consejo Internacional de Minería y Metales ha emitido su Guías de Buenas Prácticas para laminaría y la Biodiversidad, que propone pautas para el manejo de la biodiversidad en las distintas etapas operativas.

She also said that the International Council of Mining and Metals has issued a Good Practice Guidelines for Biodiversity laminar, which proposes guidelines for the management of biodiversity in various operational stages.

Recently the Mining Chamber of Panama (CAMIPA) in conjunction with the University of the Caribbean announces the development of a diploma about Mining and Environment, which include subjects such as social and environmental impact of the mining activity and the incorporation of biodiversity in the mining projects, among others.

The representative of TNC sustained that, consequent to the objectives of conservation of biodiversity and sustainable development that Panama has assumed, it’s imperative and responsible to analyze the education, consider both perspective and look for national consensus about the destiny of the country, which transits by the sustainable use of resources.

She sustained that the open-pit mining is considered one of the activities of the industry with greater impact in the environment and that the argument that it greats jobs, without qualifying if that size of manual labor is in certain phases of operation or permanent, may be insufficient to the mount invested, the environmental impact and its irreversibility.

Gonzalez mentioned the copper project of the Minera Panama in Cerro Petaquilla, which has a concession of 13 thousand hectares, of which about 6 thousand hectares intervene, and its located in the center of the Panamanian portion of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.

Also, that the forested areas of Donoso are in good state, by which they were declared as protected area by the Environmental national Authority (ANAM).

This project is as big as the canal expansion and “ but obviously it’s about different sectors and interventions, the dimension are comparable in terms of the size of the project, technological level required, its impact and therefore the strategic importance to the country” said Gonzalez.

The representative of TNV asks if its comparable the benefits that both project have for the country and the level of information for the citizens.

On this sense Gonzales said that the economic and distributive analysis of the impacts that could bring the mining activity in Panama, supported in the mining project Petaquilla Gold lead “it does not pretend to be conclusive but to start “the national informed discussion” concerning the analysis of the metallic mining and sustainable development in Panama

PTQ

October 2nd 2007

La Estrella de Panama

With the revival of the Petaquilla mining project in 2005 (after a break caused by a decrease in the international prices of metals) and after conducting assessments, pre and feasibility analysis and presenting the Environmental Impact assessment to the ANAM, Petaquilla began the construction of its gold plant within its concession area.

The Panamanian Government approved through a Resolution of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the mine development plan in several phases as presented by the Company through the Contract of Law (#9 of February 26^th 1997) The first of these, giving possession of the Molejon gold deposits, began in 2006, and the construction work of the mineral processing plant is currently being held.

One of the most important works during the preparation of the function phases for the construction of the gold processing plant was recently completely and consisted of emptying 1,450 square meters of concrete involving 15,151 cement bags, creating the largest concrete dump in a rural area in Panama.

It was a monolithic pour, involving 55 continuous hours of work, which involved the use of additives that allowed the setting or hardening of the huge mass of concrete used within the specific time constraints.

“To achieve this goal we had the support of CEMEX, a company that was responsible for emptying a minimum of 5,450 cubic meters of concrete in five months, and an operation that is compared with those associated with the works of the Panama Canal Authority” said Engineer Rafael Eysseric, vice president of Engineering, Planning and Design of Petaquilla Gold Company.

“Within this construction process other smaller concrete dumps will also take place, and when combined may increase the demands for both cement and additives at the plant by about 3 thousand adittional square meters” he added.