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36.122.778 von jmsdj am 01.12.08
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100,000 OUNCES IN 2009
Petaquilla's gold project to start producing before year end
Petaquilla Minerals' delayed Molejon gold mine in Panama will start
producing gold ‘within weeks'
Posted: Saturday , 06 Dec 2008
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) -
Vancouver-based mining firm Petaquilla Minerals Ltd (PTQ.TO) will
begin producing gold at its Molejon project in Panama within weeks,
the company said on Friday.
The concession is expected to produce an estimated 100,000 ounces
of gold by the end of 2009 and maintain those levels for at least
six more years, Chief Financial Officer Bassam Moubarak told
Reuters.
"We will start production before the end of the year," Moubarak
said.
The announcement comes after lengthy delays and a series of
environmental complaints about the mine linked to cyanide and
deforestation. Originally the project was supposed to begin
production in January this year.
Petaquilla now has permission from Panama's environmental regulator
to go ahead with the project, Tom Byrne, the company's spokesman,
said.
A massive copper project with the same name was spun off from
Petaquilla Minerals and went public in 2006. Canadian company Inmet
Mining Corp (IMN.TO) is in the process of wrapping up an
acquisition of a majority stake in the project, the largest copper
deposit in Panama.
The Petaquilla gold mine will be the first major site to begin
production in the country, although a slew of other proposals have
been put forward during the commodities boom.
Although rich in minerals, Panama's tropical climate and the
remoteness of some of the sites has long made large-scale
exploration unattractive.
The dramatic drop in metals prices in recent weeks and the
squeezing of credit due to the global financial crisis has again
put the development of some projects in doubt. (Reporting by Andrew
Beatty; Editing by Christian Wiessner)
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