Shine goes off Petaquilla Gold

THE GLITTER appears to have gone off Petaquilla Gold the mine that has long been a controversial focus for investors, environmentalists and reports of an alleged stock market manipulation plot linked to a Panama brokerage.

On Wednesday workers in in Los Molejones closed the road leading to the extraction and processing site .They were demanding payment of their salary for the previous two weeks, the nonpayment of social security for 24 months and the likely dismissal of 600 workers.

The closure of the road in the popular ' Y', near the Molejones checkpoint in the area of Donoso, Colon province, where routes divide,(one to Minera Petaquilla and the other to the Minera Panama copper project) , from two in the morning , prevented the regular transfer of personnel and equipment to both mining areas.
This is the fourth protest over wage claims as a result of apparent financial difficulties of the Petaquilla Gold consortium says La Estrella.
Previously, miners marched in Penonomé and picketed Petaquilla offices in Santa de La Pintada.
Human Resources employees with checks arrived, but workers were told that they had no funds. They The workers rejected the checks.
he Panama Mining trade union ( Sitraemip ) said in a written statement: “We decided to stop work activities to protest the injustices ad the patience of the victims has been exhausted because for over 12 months is discounted social security us , and we do not receive tokens; fortnightly pay ismany days late and the company retaliates against those claiming their rights”
The union says that workers also blame the Ministry of Labor and Workforce Development ( Mitradel ) and the Social Insurance Fund ' to be paid for the shares of the mining company."
There are approximately 1,500 workers at Petaquilla .
Sources close to the operation said the problem is ‘maladministration’. There is gold, but the company does not have the financial capacity to deal with the costly extraction operation. And there are other exploration problems. Sometimes referred to an alleged sale of shares to a foreign consortium, but nobody says.
The estimated debts to suppliers are$250 .000 and the payment of bonuses additional royalties to workers $800,000 maybe the reasons for the problem, An Estrella source who asked to remain anonymous, explained that in November 2013 began delays said in payments to workers and also gold mining ceased, and for four months, there was no production .
On several occasions, union leaders have announced that Petaquilla is not meeting the terms of the labor agreement. Workers are demanding better food and ensure compliance with the security measures and the provision of adequate transportation.