environment

Watchdog group blasts Petaquilla Minerals Company

Canadian group MiningWatch issued a report that cast doubts on the mine project’s viability.

The report cautioned investors about the challenges the gold mine faces from the government and environmental groups.

carlos lemos/la prensa

big plans: A recent report by MiningWatch warned that Petaquilla Minerals Company lacks evidence backing up their projections for gold deposits on their concession in the Colón province.1120180

Canadian environmental watchdog group MiningWatch issued a warning yesterday about the risks of investing in the gold mine the Petaquilla Minerals Company has proposed to construct in the Donoso district of the Colón province.

The report cast doubt on the company’s evidence supporting the projections for the quantity of gold it expects to extract, and pointed out that no major mining firm has come forward to back the project since fellow Canadian mining giants Inmet Mining and Teckcominco broke off their alliance with the Panamanian company.

“They recognize that they don’t have a feasibility study and there is no assurance that these projections will be realized,” stressed the report.

Additionally, the group indicated that environmental controversies involving the Panamanian government threatens to jeopardize the company’s very mining concession.

“Petaquilla Minerals’s inability to meet legal requirements and environmental regulations has led to conflicts with environmental groups and government institutions in Panama, meaning that the legal status of the concession itself may be in danger,” said Jamie Kneen, a representative of MiningWatch Canada.

“Nowhere in its publications has the company disclosed the specific nature and seriousness of the risks it faces,” added Kneen, who noted that this should raise red flags with Panamanian authorities, environmental groups and Canadian investors alike.

Petaquilla spokesperson Marcel Salamis rejected the group’s report, and argued that studies backing the company’s projections of the gold deposit in the Molejón area of Colón had been approved in Canada.

As for the environmental questions regarding the mine, Salamín criticized the country’s chief environmental authority, Anam, for delaying approval of the environmental impact study which he claimed was submitted by the company over a year ago.

“They had a maximum of 45 days to approve it and they did not,” he said. Salamín added that the company intends to review MiningWatch’s warning carefully before ruling out taking further action.

Panamanian chairman Richard Fifer announced the split off of Petaquilla Minerals Company from Petaquilla Gold earlier this year, cutting ties with Canadian mining companies and alienating some investors.