Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. Announces Growth Strategy

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 12, 2014) - Further to its news release of May 8, 2014, Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. ("Petaquilla" or the "Company") (TSX:PTQ)(OTCBB:PTQMF)(FRANKFURT:P7Z) announces that its commercial agreement with Minera Panama, S.A., a subsidiary of First Quantum Minerals Ltd., both formalizes their commitment to the economic and social development of the Petaquilla mining district in Panama and provides the Company important capitalization to advance its growth strategy.

The US$60 million derived from the agreement allows the Company to completely address its senior credit facility, effectively eliminating its secured debt and precious metal and loan obligations, and strengthens the Company's balance sheet by reducing short term liabilities.

This recapitalization has also enabled the Company to restructure and to focus on future growth. In Panama, Petaquilla is focused on increasing gold production through plant and leaching operations at its Molejon gold mine to 4,000 gold ounces per month within the next 90 days. The Company has sufficient reserves at its Molejon gold deposit to continue production at that rate for a further five years. In addition, 152,000 gold ounces slated for leaching are presently stockpiled at Molejon.

Concurrently, Petaquilla will position itself for future growth in the Iberian Peninsula by focusing on mineral resource expansion and development of its Iberian properties, positioning them to generate cash flow in the shortest order possible. In Portugal, Petaquilla has completed approximately 12,000 metres of drilling at its Jales-Gralheira project and will soon engage an independent consultant to prepare a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate, expected to be complete three months from commencement. The Company is also working towards a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate at its Banjas project having completed a drill program of approximately 9,300 metres. The Company will target production in Spain and Portugal in the early part of next year.

The Company is undertaking a comprehensive production review and will provide further production guidance for its 2015 fiscal year within the next 10 days.

About Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. - Petaquilla is a growing, diversified gold producer committed to maximizing shareholder value through a strategy of efficient production, targeted exploration and select acquisitions. The Company operates a surface gold processing plant at its Molejon Gold Project, located in the south central area of Panama. In addition, the Company has exploration operations at its wholly-owned Lomero-Poyatos project located in the northeast part of the Spanish/Portuguese (Iberian) Pyrite Belt and several other exploration licenses in Iberia.