MINING ABUSE

Petaquilla Gold blasted and fined

08-10-2009 | MARTY COLLINGS

marticolley@yahoo.com

Panama Star PANAMA. Panama´s public defender has fined the Petaquilla Mineral group a million dollars and ordered Petaquila Gold SA to pay almost $935,000 more in compensation for the environmental destruction caused by its unauthorised mining activities in Colón and Coclé provinces. It also calls for all of the companies’ operations to cease until mitigation efforts are put in place.

In addition, the resolution signed by public defender Ricardo Julio Vargas calls on the Ministry of Commerce to consider rescinding the Petaquilla Gold SA mining company ‘s concession. It also criticizes the National Environment Authority (ANAM) for failing to ensure that the company carried out an environmental impact assessment, or that the norms for preventing environmental contamination were respected.

According to the resolution, Petaquilla Gold SA indiscriminately cut down more than 50 hectares of trees, constructed roads and a processing plant, installed electric lines and conducted mining activities that had a negative impact on fresh water resources.

These activities put at “enormous risk” the surrounding natural environment in Colón and Coclé provinces and, in particular, caused widespread soil erosion, loss of bio-diversity and pollution of ground and soil water.

The resolution states that Petaquilla Gold SA continued with their mining activities even after ANAM called on them to halt operations. It says that Petaquilla’s activities threaten social wellbeing and are in direct contravention of the rights to clean, pollution free water, air and food supply as outlined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights to which Panama is signatory.

It adds that the company has demonstrated beyond all reasonable doubt that its activities are incompatible with sustainable development and recommends the Ministry of Commerce and ANAM to coordinate activities to protect the constitutional rights of Panamanian citizens.

Petaquilla Minerals SA has a total of six gold and mineral mining concessions in Panama dating back to 1994 and covering almost 57,000 hectares in Colón and Coclé provinces.

The declaration is being seen as a victory for Pastor Durán, president of the environmental Coordinadora Ambiental Panamá organisation, who first brought the complaint against the Petaquilla group in 2005.

Environmental organisations throughout Panamá are concerned that the State has already awarded more than 197 mining concessions throughout the country.