Mining Expert Says Petaquilla Likely Never In Production

The future doesn't look very bright for the Petaquilla open pit gold and copper mine projects in Panama. Even though the company issued a press release stating they would go in production this month, Latin American mining and commodity expert Otto Rock of Inca Kola News says that "full commission date is likely to be 'never'".

Environmental groups have long protested the destruction caused by the company that is led by Richard Fifer, an ex-governor under indictment for corruption. Indigenous people were chased off their land and explosions set off next to their homes without any kind of warning. MiningWatch Canada recently published a warning to shareholders, holding no punches denouncing Petaquilla's actions:

The report documents a number of serious problems that the organisation alleges are not being properly disclosed to investors. According to MiningWatch spokesman Jamie Kneen, "Investors should be fully informed of the realities surrounding Petaquilla Minerals' flagship property."

The report shows the company has run afoul of the Panamanian government, as well as environmental organisations and local communities, putting itself in an isolated position.

Petaquilla was eventually fined almost $2 million for environmental damages and for operating without any licenses. But then, Panama's environmental authority ANAM approved an environmental impact study, prompting Petaquilla to publish an up-beat press release stating they would start producing as early as this month, December.

A lost battle? Not at all. Otto Rock, a stock analyst who specializes in mining and commodities in Latin America and publishes the Inca Kola News on that subject started digging a little deeper, with the assistence of yours truly. And we found that there is no way that Petaquilla will produce gold this month, or at any time in the near future, as it needs, among other things, to file five more studies to be in compliance with Panama's regulations, and they legally can't mine anything at this point. Or, as Otto Rock put it:

Or in other words, Richard Fifer is lyng through his teeth and using neat and sly tricks of semantics in company press releases to make it sound like his company has enviro approvals. He's casting out an illusion that PTQ.to goes operational in December when the truth is that the company is nowhere near the point when its government will allow it to produce its gold. This because it's run by a bunch of corrupt assholes who belong in jail and couldn't build a sandcastle, let alone a mine. But since when has that mattered to companies listed on the TSXV?

That, plus the fact that there are constant protests against the mine, led him to conclude: "Full commissioning date is likely to be "never"." Read the whole story and analysis at Inca Kola News, here.

Instant Update: Andrew Beatty, the Reuters correspondent in Panama, listens to the spin of Petaquilla's CFO Bassam Moubarak and, without independent verification whatsoever, publishes it as news.