Clean-up tug of war at troubled gold mine

WHILE PANAMA  waits expectantly for action against those  behind the  Financial Pacific scandals, including the alleged stock  manipulation of Petaquilla Minerals, the company at the heart of the   problem is  engaged in a tug of war with the Ministry of the Environment.

Five contractors interested in a government contract to clean up contamination at the abandoned Petaquilla Gold mining site in Colón toured the site on Friday, August 4

The mine has been abandoned since 2013 due to Petaquilla’s financial problems. the government is aiming to clean up the site to reduce the risk of contaminating nearby water supplies.

The inspection was delayed for two hours when employees at the site refused the visitors admittance until the arrival of  police and Brigido Tenorio mayor of San José de el General

Yamil Sánchez, national director of environmental quality of the Ministry of the Environment, said that the inspection was supposed to take place Tuesday, but workers would not allow them to enter, which is why the police and the mayor were asked for assistance.

Jorge Obón, secretary of the Board of Directors of Petaquilla Gold and spokesman for the company, said that the mine is private property and that the authorities could pass, but wanted to bar the companies seeking the contract  from entering reports La Prensa.

The reference price of the clean up project  is $ 1.9 million.

 It calls for the draining of three meters of water from a tailings containment pond and other work. This will ensure that contaminated material does not leak into the surrounding area.

Water that is extracted from the ponds will be isolated in a separate area.

The concern is that heavy rains could flood the area.

Petaquilla Gold has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court to stop the work, which has yet to been resolved.

Obón said that most of the work has already been done by the company, and the rest was planned.

“The state wants to spend almost $2 million, and we are spending $200,000,”

He said that several requests have been sent to the Ministry of the Environment to allow them to continue the cleanup, but they have not received any response.