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Sep 29/15 O'Rourke, James Calhoun Indirect Ownership Common Shares 10 - Acquisition in the public market 200,000
Sep 29/15 Shier, Rodney Direct Ownership Common Shares 10 - Acquisition in the public market 50,000 $0.420
Sep 24/15 Sep 23/15 O'Rourke, James Calhoun Direct Ownership Common Shares 10 - Acquisition in the public market 150,000 $0.520
Sep 24/15 Sep 18/15 O'Rourke, James Calhoun Direct Ownership Options 50 - Grant of options 150,000 $0.590
Sep 22/15 Sep 18/15 Shier, Rodney Direct Ownership Options 50 - Grant of options 110,000 $0.590
Sep 10/15 O'Rourke, James Calhoun Direct Ownership Common Shares 10 - Acquisition in the public market 100,000
Sep 4/15 Shier, Rodney Direct Ownership Common Shares 47 - Disposition by gift -383,600 Sep 4/15 Sep 4/15 Shier, Rodney Direct Ownership Common Shares 10 - Acquisition in the public market 30,000 $0.590
Sep 4/15 Sep 2/15 Shier, Rodney Direct Ownership Common Shares 10 - Acquisition in the public market 125,000 $0.60 -
Source: CanadianInsider
Its exactly what I expected - good to let the community know management was no where to be seen when I walked the floor yesterday at PDAC.
Stopped by their booth at PDAC - no one was around to answer questions - most gold stocks were positive today - we continue to languish...
Careful what you read in Panamanian papers as much of the information is paid for….
Most people here in Panama feel that mining is a negative industry - Inmet has had a number of protests outside of its offices (which is located in the same building as the Canadian Embassy) Torres De las Americas. They also have had their access road closed several times over the years (this is the stuff you don't get to read in press releases from the company)...
What you have to put into perspective here is that the official unemployment rate in Panama is under 5% - the economy is doing very well and there is money for most people with the exception of the Indigenous people - who are used as pawns by the political opposition to kick Martinelli in the As*.
What is important is - if the opposition see Inmet as an opportunity to kick Martinelli in the as* - then Inmet will have a serious problem.
I believe the other problem Inmet will have in the near future is that they are too close to the CD and when the government changes in 2014 (and if my memory serves me correctly the 20 year permit on the Petaquilla concession will have to be renewed by the new government in 2016) - they could get spanked....
PTQ is cool - remember the mine was built under the PRD government and there are nearly 800 people working there - so this crap shouldn't impact us - however on the Inmet side - I am not so sure - they need the law changed to allow foreign governments to own mining concessions....
This is a country that fought hard to get back control of the Canal from the Americans - do you think at this point Martinelli would have any trouble passing this law????
- just think about what happened last March when he tried to pass Law #8 - whoops it don't look good for Inmet....
These psuedo-environmentalists are nothing more than modern day racists who tell poor Indians that mining and hydro is going to destroy everything in their territories. They promote violence and conflict and I am glad the government kicked out someone of these foreigner agitators - who only want people in Panama to live in poverty.
As for Banfield, she was on TVN this morning - with a designer dress and a MAC Pro on the set - she lives in a nice area of Panama City and drives an SUV and travels all over the World talking crap about mining and hydro and pretends to give two craps about the environment. She knows nothing about the Indians here - how they live and how they suffer... she only preys on the ignorance of the Indians and the Panamanian people.
However let's look at the real problem - the problem now is Martienlli politically is very limited in how he can deal with these environmental idiots cuz he screwed things up so badly in Bocas and with the Indians and now the opposition has banded together to kick him in the ass... His popularity is at an all time low and even the war chest he is building in the CD party for 2014 won't save him and the boys. He is even now trying to re-join the Central American Parliament - cuz he knows he can get 5 years of immunity if he becomes a dipuatdo over there....
The opposition here is having a party here - they are using the environmental idiots, the unions and the Indians to give Martinelli an old fashion spanking...
The other problem is Martinelli is he is too greedy - he's gotta throw the Indians a bone or two - quit trying to keep everything for himself... The Chief - she can't back up on hydro - cuz she gets all her support from the Indians who are pissed about hydro - so she can't back down and Martinelli can't back down cuz there's too much cash-a-roo in them thar rivers...
I think if we have one more riot here - the Martinelli is done... Let's hope things settle down and he doesn't kill mining and development for the country....
What I heard on the radio on Friday is that Martinelli's political capital has crashed and burned - to nearly 20% - Check out this poll prior to the crisis with the Indians.
As of Jan 19 he lost over 40% of his support and he is going down...down...down....
I am super disappointed at the way he handled the riots - people were kidnapped here, police stations burned and roads closed which cost the country millions - there are even rumours he went to the US to attend the Super Bowl - while Rome was burning...
Where is martinell??? He had his minister of Tourism speaking today that Mr. martinelli is around and in control - but he has not addressed the nation about the crisis.... Where is Waldo??? Is he with Martinelli????
I agree give the Indians control over their resources - but they should leave the rest of the country alone to develop what needs to be developed....
FROM LA PRENSA
Martinelli is less popular than Perez Balladares and Martin Torrijos when he spent half of his presidency.
MIZRACHI FLOWER ANGEL
flor@prensa.com
DESCENT. The president Ricardo Martinelli began his term with an approval rate of 85.9%. Today, dissatisfied with his government reached 48.6%. PRESS / Archive
Fewer and fewer Panamanians approve of Ricardo Martinelli. The businessman who was promoted as the manager of change needed Panama, promising an end to the corrupt practices of the traditional political class and came to power with a sweeping 60.1% of the vote today does not enjoy overwhelming acceptance.
When you serve half of his mandate, the support of the President is so divided that the group that approves their actions only by 2% than the group that disapproves. Today, 50.6% think that their work is good or very good, 48.6% think it is bad or very bad, and 0.8% did not know the answer.
It follows from the last survey commissioned by this newspaper to Unimer, carried out between 19 and 22 January 2012 and is based on a sample of 203 thousand people, with a margin of error of 2.8%.
The perception that management is good or excellent Martinelli reached its lowest level since October 2009 when it was first measured. At that time had a 85.9% approval, 35.3% more than now. And if you compare your current decline compared to July 2011, when he served two years in office and marked 64% positive rating, the decline has been more than 13 points.
The current survey also reveals that the perception that the president's management is poor or very poor reaches its highest level since coming to power. In October 2009, only 10.2% of Panamanians had a negative image of their performance. When he finished his first year in office, the figure rose to 28.5%. Upon completion of its first two years in power, that percentage jumped to 35.2%, while now, and half fulfilled its mandate, the group of protesters reached 48.6%.
If the comparison is made between Martinelli and its predecessors, the results are not encouraging. Although Martinelli came to the Palace of the Herons with more support than the polls were Ernesto Perez Balladares (33%), Mireya Moscoso (44%) and Martin Torrijos (47%), a comparison of the last survey of this newspaper with similar studies in the middle of the previous government management by Dichter & Neira for La Prensa, Martinelli realize that just exceeds the Moscoso Panamenista citizen evaluations. A Torrijos and the PRD Perez B. fared better than the incumbent.
In March 2002, fulfilling half of his administration, Moscoso was rated positively or very positively by 44% of respondents. In order of popularity followed, as stated, Martinelli with 50.6%. B. Perez then placed that in March 1997 totaled 52.1% among those who thought their work was good or very good, while in the first seat was positioned Torrijos positive image with 66.1% of public acceptance (to March 2007).
These data are of special significance when one remembers that when he turned his first 100 days in office, Martinelli recorded a popularity rating higher than the levels achieved by its three predecessors. In its first three months in office, Perez B. was 81.3%, while Moscoso and Torrijos had 70%. Martinelli, as noted earlier, managed in the same period 85.9% acceptance.
The decline in popularity of the president is not casual. In recent weeks, the administration has faced tough questioning Martinelli due to scandals that have not been resolved, such as free allocation of 54 hectares of land on the shores of John Hombrón coclesanas to close to power, the purchase of radars with assumptions Finmeccanica overruns of over $ 250 million and use of state funds to favor campaign or elected officials (legislators, representatives and mayors) for Democratic Change party president.
In addition, the president has been roundly criticized by the large number of contracts delivered directly, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, lack of transparency in the construction of the third phase of the coastal strip, the use of DG Income as a tool to punish opponents and critics of this government, and the precipitous decline of Panama in the recent ranking of freedom of expression made by the international organization Reporters Without Borders.
This picture becomes more bleak for the possibility that because Martinelli is preparing to appoint three judges of a Chamber of the Supreme Court shall have power to prosecute members, authorize interceptions of private communications and resolve habeas data.
CLUSTER OF CONCERNS
But Panamanians not only care about performance and handling Martinelli. According to the latest survey Unimer, the work of the Cabinet also generates discontent. Less than half of respondents (43%) believe that their work can be considered good or excellent. The group is becoming less satisfied, because in July 2010, 54.2% thought positively of the ministers, while in October 2009, the vast majority (72.8%) considered them good or excellent.
In addition, 59.8% of respondents think the current government is inefficient or very inefficient in handling public funds, and an even higher percentage (77.1%) ensures that it does so with little or no transparency. On this point, the government has argued that there is information to be sensitive and national security can not be disclosed, thus evading questions about the handling of taxpayers' money.
Although the government promised in this campaign think about the interests of the majority, forgetting the traditional practice of governing for the few, the public perception is that this is a government that acts on behalf of minorities. The 70.8% holding this view.
Martinelli also promised, both in campaign and in the exercise of its president, to end corruption as this corroded institutions and increased poverty. However, 44% of respondents (mostly college-educated people and residents in urban areas of the country) believes that this government is very corrupt, compared with 11% who think it's pretty honest. Another significant 44% believe the government is not corrupt or honest. And in fact, only 19.8% think that corruption has decreased.
Another issue of concern to respondents is the Executive interference in other state bodies. Six out of ten Panamanians believe that respecting the autonomy of the Supreme Court, while two out of three believe that the independence of the municipalities is being violated. This abuse of power is also reflected in the opinion of 59.6% who think that Panama can not express themselves freely without threat or pressure.
And despite that 2011 closed with a good growth, there is concern about the economic situation. The survey reveals that at least four in ten respondents think the economy worsened in the past year. The same amount of people believe that in 12 months is even worse.
The complete survey results can be seen today in the Pulse of the Nation, which runs with this newspaper.
The other part of the issue is that the government has failed on several fronts:
1. They allowed the protests to go on too long and they have spent valuable political capital that they will not get back - people blame the government for the damage to their businesses and for being stranded on the hwy
2. The friends (Btesh Group) have a vested interest in hydro - these are direct friends of Martinelli so he will protest his interest
3. Martinelli is not being seen as taking command of the crisis
4. Martinelli has created a long list of enemies with very deep pockets - these guys supported the riots and they are just waiting for the next one
5. The level of violence is increasing - the riots in March were not as violent as the ones last week - the government has forgiven all these terrorists - this has upset the average Panamanian - again this will hit Martinelli's political capital
6. Martinelli is now sitting at around 20% in the polls
7. Martinelli continues to fight with the media - this is a huge mistake for any politician anywhere...
8. The government now says they have tapes and recordings of the opposition - where did these tapes come from and were these tapes done in a legal way? Panamanians now have proof that their government spies on them without any regard for the law or the Constitution
9. The government attacked the Church - Molino's comments were seen as an attack on the Church
10. How can the government stop development in the Comarca? There was no referendum conducted there - the 180,000 Ngobes that live there didn't vote on anything. Banning mining and hydro is also in contradiction to the Ngobes Law #10
11. How can the government negotiate with terrorists
I think if I was to score this one - the Indians get 20% of the blame and Martinelli and his band of merrymen get the other 80% - they screwed up and it will be interesting to see how they are going to fix this one....
Absolutely...
Your questions are great - I would like to know the same - thanks for sending them in...
oh one more - why is Richie Fifer the guy leading all the press info and CC - don't we have a CEO running this company?
I agree with you - Fifer and crew have all kinds of tools at their disposal to move the SP up - one of course is to have PTQ buy its own stock which in my opinion is very cheap at the moment. Promotion is also the other tool they have and to boot it would be good if we could get an analyst or two to follow and report on PTQ.
The share price could jump if Fifer wants it to jump in price - PTQ can buy back up to 10% of its outstanding shares and the company has the cash to start taking out chunks of stock. My guess the price will go up when Fifer is good and ready... I also find it strange to that Joao - who is suppose to be the CEO never signs the press releases as the last few have been signed by Fifer...
Should be interesting times - CD claims to have over 470,000 card carrying members - PRD have approx 450,000 and the Panamenistas have 350,000 so 2014 is shaping up to be a three horse race.
I guess Martinelli decided he had enough members to pull the plug on the Varela marriage and I suppose he feels he has a good chance on being being re-elected in 2014...
I also wonder what the Americans are going to do now from behind the curtain - remember the Ambassador was the one to bring the boys together in 2009 - will Washington now support Martinelli? Will they support Varela? Will they support the PRD? Maybe they will propose a marriage between Juan Carlos Navarro and JC Varela....
As a result of the divorce I expect the fur to fly and mud to be slung.... Hopefully this little tiff does not impact our SP...
That's what I think...
You hit the nail on the head - there are groups here that do not want things to change - especially in the agricultural sector - these guys pay people peanuts and present some of the biggest opposition to mining - not because mining is bad - but because it impacts their interest - meaning that they think they will loose workers to higher paying mining jobs. Then there is the Church - it's amazing how some of these guys preach about mining - scaring the crap out of people and not wanting to see people in the rural areas develop - they are in the front lines of the groups against mining.
Panama is also a place where a person is murdered every 20 hours and we lose almost 500 people year from accidents on the Panamerican Hwy - now the majority of these murders are drug related - but when you compare this stat with developed countries it leaves you wondering....
The good thing I have noticed is that Panama takes the protection of tourists very seriously and the police are everywhere - so that is a good thing.
I agree with you if Inmet can finally get things moving - the industry is really going jump here - PTQ is tiny project in comparison, but as soon as this one and then Cerro Colorado move forward - this will become a mining nation.
As for Martinelli - he has a clear plan:
1. Crush the opposition and any threats to his power
2. Get re-elected
3. Make lots of cash
The only way that will happen is if mining moves forward in Panama - so he will support our industry
I also agree that Panama is not 'Heaven on Earth" but it is a good place to be - like everywhere you have to be careful and remember that when you buy real estate here there are three prices:
1. The Gringo Price
2. The Spanish Speaker Price (Latin Price)
3. The Local Price
If you ever decide to buy a place here in Panama with your PTQ windfall make sure that you have a company own it - because if you ever get sued they can't get your asset - as well a company will always have more legal rights then you will ever have here - so its just a good way to do thing..
Thank-you my intention is to give people who read the Board the best overview that I can provide.
I have a Panamanian friend and he told me look - its like this - this country was founded by pirates so we are pirates - I like that - so I am always careful when I deal with Pirates....
Just to advise - Panama is a country that is a mixed bag of people - blacks, East Indians, Indians, Chinese, mixed people and whites - very large jewish population here too - they control the trade - particularly the Free Zone.
All the high enders (people with money) here know each other and its amazing to watch these guys do business - which is always over the phone. The corruption is at all levels and you don't get anything done without favours - most countries of the World operate this way.
However in politics these guys are ruthless to each other - very little loyalty and it appears that some of them are open to the highest bidder or will give you nothing unless you give them a little support...
The Indians here are on the bottom of the socio-economic rung - however they are the fastest growing segment of the population - number around 350 to 450,000 people - it depends here because Indians self identify so there are no official numbers. As a I mentioned there is a large group of Indians that are supporting mining on their own - they are pushing Martinelli to to give them a piece of Cerro Colorado - which is a juicy project with over 33 billion pounds of copper - the Government unfortunately does not want to share with the Indians so I suspect this will create problems when the Government tries again to create a new mining law...
It is important to note that most of the mineral wealth of the country is located in Indian country with the exception of our project - I think Inmet has a couple of Indigenous communities in their neck of the woods... We however are good because we have no Indian communities in our area...
Its is also good to understand that Panama has a love hate relationship with Gringos (as Americans are affectionately known here) - the Canal was a good thing - however the Americans did very little in terms of making a positive social impact - never really helped the country develop a bilingual education system or taught people to kinder to each other....
Yes there are a lot of retirees here - Panama is a great place to be - lots of golf courses, things are in-expensive and the people are friendly and there are lots of retirement communities throughout the country....
Your observations about the media are correct and always remember that its about interest here or about who is paying for the news.
The other problem here is that nothing is planned long term - mining is long term - so the politicians here think that a mine is built is over night and bam you have tons of jobs and taxes being paid.
Many of them also dream about how they are going to get a piece and will stop companies all along the way - especially on the permitting phase...
The local people also don't understand mining and the long term investment that it makes - so this is hard for companies like PTQ and Inmet - so they end doing a lot of social work in communities to keep support - but it also becomes very expensive for the company. Most of this social work should be done by the government - but the rural areas have been ignored by the Central Government for many years.
You also have to realize that there is a strong anti-foreigner sentiment here - whether its under the breath or in your face - this was one of the reasons why Law #8 was so unpopular as they wanted to allow foreign government ownership in mining....
Lastly Law #8 really had nothing to with us - we just got hit by it indirectly - I do think the worst is behind us and the future for us looks good and like the rest of us I am looking to forward to see the quarterly results at the end of the month as these are going to dictate what happens to our share price...
Here in Panama the people do not really have a clear picture of what modern large scale mining looks like - here people have experience in agriculture, the canal, banking and tourism - so its relatively new.
That said there is a very large group of Indians here that have educated themselves about mining and are putting pressure on the government to share the Cerro Colorado concession which is located on their indian reserve - I suspect these Indians will get what they want in the end as there are 170,000 of them living there and Martinelli will not want an ugly fight with them going into the 2014 election.
It is also important to understand that the public education system here is very poor and the rich run the country and there a few families that have a lot influence.
What you read in the news is usually about interest - often you will read stories that over state the number of protesters or overstate facts or they are not interested in acquiring the facts.
What I have also seen is that the two main mining companies have not done a very good job in educating the masses about mining here - its not hard or expensive to do so - Panama is a small country with 3.2 million people and the majority live in and around Panama City - perhaps if PTQ and Inmet did more to educate the masses the industry would be seen in a better light.
A final note to mention - metallic mining is also not that important yet to the economy, but once Inmet and Cerro Colorado get moving that will change in a hurry.
Always remember that Panama moves on interest - if your read something or something is moving forward there is always an interest behind it....
In my opinion we will likely see a new law in the Fall - there are all kinds of proposals that are in the Assembly right now - being presented by different diputados and interest groups - this will take time to sort out... You can see these law proposals by going to the Assembly website and if you don't speak Spanish run them through a translation software online... Some of the law proposals are crazy but I doubt they will get approved...
In today's la Prensa another diputado jumped from the Panamanista Party to join the CD party - now Martinelli is only 3 diputados away from total control of the Assembly - he wants nothing more than control of the Assembly so this shows that the priority for Martinelli is on his re-election - once he gets control he will introduce legislation for his re-election... Once he gets that done then he will look at the mining law...
All the parties like money so I don't think we have too many issues - I think the real issue is about the changes to the mining law and these changes have a much greater impact on Inmet - who is looking for financial support from foreign governments for their project in Panama - which if you recall was one of the changes made in law #8 allowing foreign governments to invest in mining (which was prohibited under the old law) and the Cerro Colorado copper project which is located in the heart of Ngobe Bugle territory - whereby Martinelli wanted to sell this project without any kind of involvement from the Indians - then all hell broke loose...
I think we are good as far a political parties go if I thought otherwise I would sell my shares too...
If you remember - it was the Ambassador of the US who brought both Martinelli and Varela together to form the Grand Alliance - which say the CD and Panamenista parties join under the same ticket and then went on to beat the PRD in the presidential elections.
Once in power - Martinelli has worked tirelessly to consolidate power - however he still needs Varela to hold on to power. Right now Martinelli wants to change the electoral code - which means that in order to become President (taking into account the new proposed legislation) you need 50% of the vote instead of a popular majority amongst all parties.
Under his proposed system - the PRD (the largest party in the country) and the CD would be the two parties that would face each other in the second round of voting - thus knocking out the Panamenistas - Varela knows this and so his diputados are not supporting this and to slow down Martinelli they have thrown the mining law into the debate.
Martinelli knows he has to be careful with this as he got his ass kicked last March when he wanted to implement Law #8. The problem for us is that the proposed changes in Law #8 had nothing to do with us - meaning PTQ - but we took a beating from it indirectly.
The only group that Martinelli has no control over are the Indians - who make up between 10 to 15% of Panama's population - if Martinelli is going to pass a new mining law he will need their support.
There is a very large group of indians in Panama that support mining on the condition that they get a piece of a project called Cerro Colorado - so hopefully Martinelli will work with these guys and we get a peaceful resolution to the implementation of a new mining law.
I dont think any of us have too much to worry about with pro-mining or not pro-mining governments here in Panama - they are all pro-money... Remember Fifier built the mine during the PRD government and Martinelli and the boys are supporting it.... If I thought otherwise I would dump my shares....
Its like this - Martinelli is focusing all his attention on electoral reform which I suspect means his re-election - he is only a couple of diputados away from having control of the congress without the support of the Panamenistas. Once he gets control (I will let you figure out how he gets diputados to jump from the PRD and Panamenista parties to his CD party) he will move on his re-election. The small issue is right now is he can't come out in the public and say all this - one complication he has is that there are a couple of guys in his party that would love to throw their hat in the ring - which does not sit well with Varela nor with Martinelli...
Don't forget about the Gringos - they are all over this - remember it was their love that put the alliance together and who knows where they will sit as we move closer to 2014. Interesting times in Panama....
So until all this is figured out the mining law will take a backseat...
Exactly....
Exactly - politically speaking the focus in Panama right now is Martinelli's re-election plans - he is working very hard to push through legislation in the assembly that will help him in his plans to be re-elected - remember too that he also holds the power to appoint 5 more supreme court justices giving him power to change the constitution.
It is interesting though how Juan Carlos Varela and the boys are trying to co-mingle the mining law in this mix - the problem we face is the level of foreign govt ownership in the new law - remember that Law 8 wanted it wide open on this front and the govt wanted to push Cerro Colorado - then all hell broke loose - which indirectly affected PTQ's SP. Foreign govt ownership of natural resources is not popular in Panama....
I suspect that Juan Carlos just wants to slow down the big-guy with his plans for changes to the way the President is elected - so the mining stuff will slow this down a little while his party re-groups...
One other guy to watch is Juan Carlos Navarro - he is somewhat anti-mining and is the leading presidential candidate for Panama's largest political party - the PRD
There is never a dull moment in Panama...
Absolutely agree - however the the majority of Indians in Panama do want opportunities and the Ngobes - the one's who put down Law #8 are the most marginalized people in the country and the only way that the government takes them serious is when they create a mess in the streets. This is why they always block the highways...
The problem here is the government does not know the Indians - so they did not know how to react to them and so when there are conflicts the Indians close the PanAmerican Hwy.
What worries me is there is a proposal submitted to the Congress of Panama by a small radical group of Indians (sponsored by the Church and the NGOs) to shut down mining - my fear is that since Martinelli slipped on the banana peel and got a spanking from the Indians on mining in March - he is a little gun-shy on the issue - as for the diputados - these guys know nothing about mining and since mining has little benefit for them - they might approve legislation that is not good for our sector.
Some good news - I heard that yesterday a group of Indians dropped off a pro-mining proposal to the National Congress and their proposal has the support of the chiefs - so hopefully this will counter-balance the law that was presented by the radicals who are bank-rolled by the NGOs...
I do hope that we get a decent mining law - however you never know how things will play out in this little Banana Republic of ours...
I think we have excellent growth potential - I saw a recent news release from Inmet that they found some interesting copper grades in excess of 3% and good gold results as well - so I suspect that we should have good drill results as well....
As for the mining law - everything here in Panama works on pressure - so if there is a lot of pressure placed on the government by the people that are stakeholders in mining projects - particularly the Ngobes - and there is a large group of them that support mining along with the workers at PTQ and Inmet's project - then we are in good shape. If these groups do not put pressure the government and the opposition groups - funded by opposition parties and international psuedo-environmental movements then we could be in trouble.
As you know the deputies are meeting to change the law and once they get back from holidays they will begin to debate the mining law... So we should have a new law by September...
As a note the day before yesterday it was raining hard at the project site - yesterday was it was sunny when I drove through the area... So we are in the rainy season so things will slow down a little...
Greed is what moves the market and the insiders of PTQ - let's hope they are very greedy....
No worries - more than happy to share what I know about what is happening with the mining sector here in Panama. I share your concerns - but I think we will be ok and so far the rainy season has not been that bad - but remember that October and November are our wettest months... I suspect in June we will have some decent news - let's keep our fingers crossed...
Hold on - I am not negative - I am merely letting people know what is going on in our beloved Banana Republic. It is important that people know both the good the bad and the ugly and at this point I think things (personally speaking) look good for our company. If I didn't think this play was decent - I wouldn't be a shareholder - let's be honest - it is a lot harder to build shit in the rain here then when we are in the dry season. As well its a money's ass right now politically speaking with respect to the coalition government - do I think this will impact us - naw not really the PRD also supports mining so I think we are good shape...
Sure I agree there are better mining jurisdictions around the World - but remember the easy deposits in these jurisdictions are gone - that is why 50% of all Cdn juniors operate outside of Canada and many of them are in higher risk places like Ecuador, Colombia, Northern Peru and other high risk areas.
What we have going for us in Panama is simple:
1. Greed of Management
2. Greed of the Martinelli Government
3. Protection from the US - in case things get too crazy here
4. A project in production - with no long term debt
5. Excellent growth prospects
6. Increasing production
7. Dropping costs of production
8. Lots of fresh drilling results to be released in the future
9. Likely a mining law that is favorable to mining
10. A large group of Indigenous people in Chiriqi Province are pushing to get involved in mining and have closed the Panamerican Hwy a few times - now like where does that happen around World...This is great for us indirectly as they are putting pressure on the Government to pass a reasonable law - the last thing Martinelli wants to do is to dance with the Indians again...
11. Price of Gold is moving up...
I think when you look at all these factors we are in good shape.... This is why I am a shareholder :)
Exactly - I am counting on pure and simple greed - PTQ has all the right elements to do very well and I also agree that hopefully Martinelli does"nt screw it up. Just to note him and JC Varela are off on a honeymoon somewhere out of Panama and the people are pissed right now - there is a major crisis happening in the Assembly and the coalition is hanging by a thread. My concern with this political instability is that it will likely delay the mining law...
We are also in the rainy season now so things at mine site will begin to move slower - let's hope they got a lot of work done and they have some decent news in June...
The political direction here is simple - Martinelli wants to stay in power. This is priority number one - the second priority is to govern...
Right now Martinelli is trying to pass a law that will enable him to extend his term - this has his coalition government very strained and I am sure that Juan Carlos Varela is very nervous right now...
The PRD - the opposition has yet to pick its new leader - but the leader of the pack right is a guy named Juan Carlos Navarro - he is not very friendly to mining - so let's hope he does not become the leader of the PRD (the PRD is the largest political party in the country with over 600,000 voting members)
For me so long as we get a government that supports mining and gives the Indians their piece of Cerro Colorado then I am all for that...
Listen, First of all Martinelli is a very smart guy - however being a smart business man and being a president of socially and economically diverse country is another story. Simply stated you cannot run a country like Super 99 - case in point in Bocas Martinelli sent in the police against the protests last summer - these guys killed a number of people and wounded hundreds - the law got repealed and Martinelli lost a lot of political ground as a result of his strong arm tactics. Then he wanted to pass Law #8 - the Inmet Law - his government tried to use Cerro Colorado as a cover to help out Inmet - who needs investment from Singapore and Korean governments - under the old law this was illegal.
A good newspaper for you to read about the activities of the Government of Panama is the Panama Guide - this is a wonderful source of info and will tell you all about the latest scandals of Martinelli's government....
As for investing in Panama - listen - Panama is a great place and I believe in my heart of hearts that PTQ will be a good one - I am counting on the greed of management, the high price of gold, a short and brief rainy season and hopefully increased production results at the mine...
Yes we are a banana republic - but we have the best tasting bananas around and our coffee is pretty great too!!!!
The problem for PTQ is that we are a victim of collateral damage - Law #8 was an Inmet Law as a result we all paid the price as the law was not socialized properly and the issues were confused by the Martinelli Government. Cerro Colorado was only a distraction and perhaps Martinelli and his band of merrymen thought they could pull a fast grab on CC and sell it to the Koreans for a few bucks - this backfired terribly pissed off the Indians and as a result all mining projects paid the price...
It is important to note that Martinelli got the wind knocked out of him from the protests and so he is upset with mining and is trying to stay away from it.
The new mining law should be out in the next few months and there is a small group of Indians pressuring to stop mining in Panama and there is a huge group of Indians pushing the congress in support of mining - so this is good news
I think we are ok with PTQ as we don't need any cash from foreign governments like our neighbors next store..
What happened was Martinelli missed all the warning signs and he tried to confuse the issues with Law #8 - the law needed to be changed because Inmet needed the investment of foreign governments which was and is still forbidden under Panamanian Law. Cerro Colorado did not need a change to the law to be developed - the government did a terrible job in socializing the changes - the opposition got organized and supported the Indians from outside of the Comarca to close the road.
The second mistake was he agreed to repeal the law - when he was over the worst of the storm from the protests which saw the PanAmerican Hwy closed for days and his vice-minister was beaten up and gave in to the terrorists. Even Jimmie PapaD had the windows of his car broken when he met with Indians in the little town of San Felix - the site of the protests.
The third mistake he has made is that he is not listening to the majority of Indians in the Comarca especially those who live in the Cerro Colorado project area who want a piece of the project. It is all too simple - give the Indians a piece and all your problems with mining go away.
Now Martinelli is trying to change the election law in the country - which actually requires a change in the constitution - his alliance is in jeopardy and to boot he has a Minister of Tourism who had his visa stripped by the US government...
Yep interesting times in Panama - the opposition throws out banana peals and Martinelli steps on them all the time...