Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. (fka PTQMF)

[ptqliker]

I dont like. by Stockwatch Business Reporter. Mr. Fifer is promoting a project bigger than Molejon. He wants to build an aggregates mine and an infrastructure division called the Lifestyle project.

Another project in Panama is Cobre Panama, a copper property now owned by First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM: $18.01). First Quantum acquired Cobre Panama when it took over Inmet Mining Corp. earlier this year. First Quantum has since vowed to build a mine at Cobre for much less than the $6.2-billion Inmet had been forecasting. First Quantum was supposed to release its revised cost estimate this month, but it has pushed it to next year because of what it calls technical and logistical shortcomings. Some analysts suspect that First Quantum has run into difficulty bringing capital costs down.

Working right next to Cobre Panama, is Richard Fifer's Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. (PTQ: $0.31), which hopes to produce 40,000 ounces of gold equivalent at its Molejon gold mine this year. Mr. Fifer is known in some circles as the grandfather of mining in Panama. In other circles he is known as the man with a dozen personal websites promoting his good deeds. Currently, Mr. Fifer is promoting a project bigger than Molejon. He wants to build an aggregates mine and an infrastructure division called the Lifestyle project. The trouble with Lifestyle is that its success depends entirely on First Quantum bringing Cobre Panama to production. Mr. Fifer owns a large tract of land around the future mine, which he plans to develop as a residential neighbourhood, renting houses to Cobre Panama's future 5,000 workers. He would also provide the workers with shuttle-bus rides to and from the copper mine. This project will cost a lot of money, and Petaquilla has negative $100-million in working capital, so the grandfather of Panamanian mining had best get to work. With luck, his $972,000 salary will put an extra spring in his money-raising step this year.