Petaquilla exec steps down

Vancouver — Richard Fifer has stepped down as chairman and chief executive officer of Petaquilla Minerals (PTQ-T) pending the outcome of an investigation into his conduct while serving as governor of Cocle province, Panama.

Fifer resigned amid Panamanian press reports that he was being investigated for alleged “irregularities” during his term as governor. In a recent statement, Fifer said he was confident the investigation would clear his name.

“No charges have been laid against Mr. Fifer,” notes Petaquilla President Michael Levy, “but in the interest of good governance, it is important that [he] step aside for the time being.”

Meanwhile, Petaquilla has retained Roscoe Postle Associates to perform an audit of the resource estimate for the Molejon epithermal gold deposit in Panama. The firm will also complete a technical report compliant with the reporting standards of National Instrument 43-101.

Molejon is viewed as a possible stand-alone gold mine, or as a possible starter pit for the vast Petaquilla copper-gold deposit owned 52% by Petaquilla Minerals and 48% by Inmet Mining (imn-t). Teck Cominco (tek-t) can earn a 26% interest from Petaquilla by funding the junior’s share of costs to place the project into production.

Based on a 1995 report by SRK Consultants, Molejon has a probable resource of 5 million tonnes grading 2.81 grams gold per tonne, or 454,803 oz., plus a possible resource of 956,300 tonnes grading 3.72 grams gold, or 114,386 oz.

Definition drilling will attempt to upgrade existing resources to NI-43-101 standards.

The broader Petaquilla project hosts a proven reserve of 1.1 billion tonnes grading 0.5% copper and 0.015% molybdenum, plus 0.09 gram gold per tonne and some recoverable silver. This estimate was part of a 1997 feasibility study completed for the partners under the direction of Teck Cominco.