Richard Fifer

LA CASTILLA DEL ORO FOUNDATION, SPAIN IN PARITA  -PANAMA-

“Dances that reflect the heart”

The visit to Panama by the Spanish La Castilla del Oro Foundation, headed by Cristóbal Colón, was marked by the love received from the locals. Parita’s mayor, Alejo Millán Soto, in gratitude for the work done presented a plaque to the Duke of Veragua, Cristóbal Colón de Carvajal. Development of spiritual tourism was part of all the conversations that took place with regional officials who actively participate in this project which began with Richard Fifer-Carles’s idea of providing a sustainable project for all the Castilla del Oro region.

FOLK DANCES

“The dances we experienced reflect these people’s hearts. We are grateful for the treatment we received,” commented the president of La Castilla del Oro Foundation in Spain.

Los Manitos Ocueños folk group, representative of the folklore from the District of Ocú, province of Herrera, participated dressed in montunos, men in work clothes and cutarras and barefeet women in skirts danced to delight visitors with musical pieces, punto de gallina and Cumbia with footwork.

Parita’s Mayor Alejo Millán Soto presented a plaque to the Duke of Veragua, Cristóbal Colón de Carvajal in gratitude for the work done.

In order to acquire heavy machinery, the Petaquilla Gold, S.A. Company which is lead by business man Richard Fifer Carles, agreed to a leasing structure with a Panamanian bank institution. According to a company statement, the agreement was made between the bank and Panama Desarrollo de Infraestructuras, S.A. (PDI), a subsidiary of infrastructures of the company.

This leasing would allow them to purchase heavy machinery like trucks and bulldozers to operate independently, offering better rates to the company and reducing the global cost of operation, the press released reveled.

According to the agreement, PDI would pay monthly quotas of 221 million 700 dollars, during the next 4 years with the option of buying the machinery at the end of the period by an additional payment of 235 thousand dollars.

Cristobal Colon: “The tranquility and quality of the people is amazing” During his stay in Panama, the President of the Castilla del Oro Foundation in Spain highlighted the possibilities of development the region has. Promoting the activities of the tourism foundation presided and conceived by Panamanian entrepreneur Richard Fifer-Carles, he visited the Portobelo Fort. The iconic monument built between 1630 and 1634, a structure that reflects the Renaissance model, carried by the Spanish to our land. POSIBILITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT “We can’t deny it has an uncommon landscaped area that is rarely seen, but I would like to emphasize the tranquility and the quality of the people. The “typical” epoch area is a privileged place for a different kind of tourism. Spiritual tourism”, commented the President of the Foundation in Spain.

For the Petaquilla Company, community leaders represent a great potential within the areas they inhabit and this is why the mining company is committed in providing ongoing training in order to exploit their capabilities as a mechanism that benefits the communities they inhabit.

This training is provided by professionals who want to pass on their knowledge to these people, so that in turn, they can pass it on to the rest of the population in their communities.

Under the vision of entrepreneur Richard Fifer- Carles, this company goes beyond exploiting the mineral wealth of the Petaquilla area in a clean and orderly manner, focusing the Petaquilla Foundation investments in social works.

The company aims, according to Fifer Carles, to maintain continuous contact with people living next to the mining project.

In order to do so, a series of events are carried out throughout the whole year, that include lectures, training sessions and seminars aimed at people living within 50 km of the project.  “The intention is for these communities to have a partner that will help them organize and communicate their most pressing needs” said a note from the Petaquilla Foundation.

The purpose of the Company, within its Corporate Social Responsibility Policy is to have more and more people enjoy the benefit of the mining activity, not only through the opportunity of working in the project, but also by having the possibility of raising their quality of life, overcoming extreme poverty and malnutrition, as well as better access to education.

Through these activities, the Petaquilla Foundation reaffirms its commitment to exploit the Molejon gold deposit and transfer the benefits that this resource generates to supporting social, economic and tourist development of the communities located in rural areas of four provinces in the country.

For this, it promotes a sustainable development culture in the area of influence of the Petaquilla mining project that will impact the rest of the Republic of Panama.

“Create and maintain social programs that promote financial Independence for those that participate in them, providing the means necessary for communities to develop and improve their quality of life”said  a Petaquilla Press release.

JORGE CÁCERES – MAYOR OF ANTÓN ON HIS TRIP TO SPAIN

“Thanks to La Castilla del Oro we have learned a new world on tourism”

October 2010, Madrid

The Castilla del Oro foundation has sponsored Panamanian authorities to visit Spain in order to develop tools to visualize sustainable tourism. Richard Fifer – Carles, with his concept of Second Generation Social Responsibility, and motivated by the excellence in Spain’s rural tourism, proposes a cultural Exchange through the Castilla del Oro Foundation. Jorge Caceres (Mayor of Anton) conveys his impressions:

Is it difficult to apply global tourism trends in Panamá?

No it is not, but there is a lot of work to do. We had to leave our environment to learn this, and we can apply that knowledge to our own country, as long as there is a change of attitude in the people and in the authorities. Without this change, nothing can be done.

What do you think about this experience?

It’s a God sent miracle. To chose twelve mayors of different provinces in Panama and then take us to a first world country to learn about tourism, it’s a big deal. Castilla del Oro offered us such a gift, a gift from God. We have to work on developing spiritual tourism.

Thanks to the Castilla del Oro Foundation we learned where global tourism is headed.

Petaquilla Gold’s mission is to preserve biodiversity and Panama’s natural resources to benefit present and future generations, said the spokesman for the company, Carlos Salazar.

During his participation in the consultation period about the modifications to the Mineral Resources Code, that took place in the National Assembly, Salazar added that this has been demonstrated with the application of the Environmental Impact assessment on the affected area of 40 hectares.

“By law, we have the right to use up to 100, but, we have limited ourselves to 40 hectares so that we will use the least amount possible”.

He said that to get to the Petaquilla Gold Project, located in Molejon, district of Donoso, Province of Colon you must use the road that goes from Penonome, La Pintada to the community of Coclesito.

Salazar set this gold mine in its historical context, from the times of the colonies, through the explorations founded by the United Nations that took place in the 60’s and the interest and promotion given to it by General Omar Torrijos Herrera in the 70’s.

“Later between 1984 and 1989 a company by the name of Georecursos requested the concession from the Panamanian State, it is Georecursos that has slowly transformed into what today is known as Petaquilla Gold”.

The spokesman for Petaquilla Gold company led by Richard Fifer-Carles also mentioned how this Project has been criticized using aerial images where you can see the dirt movement in a wooded area, but he explained that any project of such magnitude will not create a pretty picture in its beginnings, and this can equally be seen in works such as the building of housing projects.

He stressed that the recovery of the forest cover is done automatically, in other words, not after the mine is closed.

Salazar was emphatic in stating that what is done is mitigate the impact within the exploited area causes a minimum amount of from the mineral extraction.

He said that the Petaquilla Gold industrial plant produces a product called ”dore” only and clarified that the company does not produce ingots. “We do not own a refinery, ingots are produced elsewhere, we produced a “dore” bar which is 70%, 30% silver” he said.

It is a world class facility, said Salazar, to refute the accusations of those who state that the Company uses lead. “We do not use lead, we don’t process it, we don’t generate it, or use it at any time in our activity. This is a first-world facility in Petaquilla Gold”, said Salazar.

Laying hens program conducted by the Petaquilla Gold Company in various communities around the Project through the Petaquilla Foundation who executes the mining company’s Corporate Social Responsibility program.

There is no denying that many of the goods and products that provide and guarantee us comfort in these modern times  have as their basic element metallic minerals that have been extracted from the ground, after going through an exploration, mining and chemical treatment process to obtain raw material,whether it be gold, silver or copper.

“Mining is essential to the very existence of human beings, that is, although we may not like it, there has always been and there will always be mining. Everything we see, eat or use came from a mine: In our homes, in the bathroom (toothpaste), in schools (chalk), in computers, telephones and appliances. Everything comes from mining, and it is impossible to imagine a world without metals and minerals” said Roberto Cuevas, of the Mining Chamber of Panama (CAMIPA).

Mining saves lives through proving the pharmaceutical industry with health-soluble salts, insoluble, and non-silicate compounds, all of these come from the mining industry, all surgical instruments, including the instruments used in hospitals, they all come from a mine, said Cuevas

Everything comes from a mine, even the hybrid cars, nowadays called green cars, these cars are made out of those same metals and minerals and green energy, as that produced by solar cells is not possible without the products from mining.

Cuevas broadened the focus of this subject by taking a social and economic point of view, contrasting the poorest areas with their geographical marginalization and the presence or absence of works and projects that stimulate the local economy above and beyond the State’s budget allocation.

Marginalization and extreme poverty in rural indigenous and non indigenous areas is more pronounced than in urban areas.

The difference in the figures is abysmal, because while the province of Panama has a total allocation of 4 thousand 172 million dollars out of the 13 million 395 thousand budgeted for this year; the indigenous areas, of the Kuna Yala region has 25 million dollars, Embera-Wounan has 32 million and Ngabe Bugle has a bit over 145 million dollars.

Cuevas said that the disparity of these figures is due to the fact that the major development projects are concentrated around the Canal: Expansion of the Canal, cleaning up the bay, the subway, among others.“What investment projects do we have to offer the rest of the country? He asked.

He mentioned that Panama’s main environmental problem is poverty, which requires the cutting down of forests to make subsistence farming areas, which adds to the indiscriminate use of agrochemicals, lack of infrastructure and training programs and environmental management in rural areas.

This situation causes 40 hectares to be deforested each year.

“If we take the mining potential that can be developed, if we were to operate all mines at this very moment, they would all impact around 7 or 8 thousand hectares over a period of time that could be extended for decades. That is, by far, much less impact than the one caused by other activities”. He said.

TNC is one of the world’s most important organizations

Given the governments interest in encouraging and providing facilities to allow the exploitation of metals, the environmental organization ‘TheNatureConservancy’ (TNC) has proposed an “informed national debate” to consider this issue as well as the issues of sustainable development in Panama.

This was raised by the TNC representative in Panama and Costa Rica, Mayte Gonzalez, in a lengthy article titled “Environmental Mining Debate” published by the National Association for the Conservation of Nature (ANCON) during the celebration of its 25^th anniversary.

González noted that the rise in international metal markets prompted the government of Panama to promote the development of mining as part of its development and investment plans.

This led to the resurfacing of mining projects that had been abandoned since the 90’s, due to falling metal prices at that time.

She also mentioned that between the 1990’s and the present day Panama has followed the path for sustainable development and conservation, while the mining industry maintained its traditional profile, characterized by non-metallic mining activity that accounted for 1.4% of GDP (GDP) and with growth directly linked to the construction industry.

She stressed that although mining does not appear to be emphasized in the Government Strategic Plan, according to information from the Office of Mineral Resources of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MICI) in2008, 44% of Panamanian territory is under concession or in the process of a concession to mining companies.

This led to various community organizations dedicated to environmental management, human rights and public health organizations to be concerned about the implications that these projects might have on the environment and human health.

In this scenario, TNC made an economic and distributional analysis of the impact that the mining activity could have in Panama, said Gonzalez, adding that for this case study they examined the Petaquilla Gold mining Project and for base information they used the data from the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

González said that with the quantification of 2 out of 24 environmental impacts listed in the EIA, such as the loss of forest cover and the effect on the quality of water. This study concludes that there is a high degree of profitability for the investor and a net loss to Panama as a country because of environmental costs, the fact that investors are foreigners and the existence of tax exemptions

The TNC representative recalled that in 2008 a forum on the future of mining in Panama was held here and months before that, a group of environmental organizations presented to the then president Martin Torrijos a request that he declare a moratorium on open-cast metal mining.

The purpose of this moratorium was to put mining on hold until there were legal and institutional conditions and proper techniques to allow better control and follow-up of mining activity.

Other lobbying was conducted by other organizations with different views, from those who supported the activity, business associations, companies that promoted the Projects and diplomatic representatives to those who opposed it, such as ANCON and the Environmental Advocacy Center (CIAM).

In Panamá, the mining company Petaquilla Gold, led by entrepreneur Richard Fifer Carles, has made great efforts to create a clean and responsible mining industry, by complying with all environmental the standards required by the Panamanian authorities; who periodically conduct comprehensive monitoring of all the company’s operations.

Pedro Rios, Governor of Colon (Panama) with Cristobal Colon, President of the Castilla del Oro Foundation of Spain.

CASTILLA DEL ORO IN PANAMÁ

Colon’s Governor Pedro Rios:
“Richard Fifer had a vision and  has worked for the ones that need it the most”

Madrid, August 25, 2011
Text and Photos: G. B.G.

The development of its government is linked directly to Petaquilla Gold, the responsible mining company of Panama.  The governor will not stop paying compliments to Richard Fifer-Carles, entrepreneur of Petaquilla Minerals, Petaquilla Foundation, and Castilla del Oro Foundation.  “Gold is part of the flag of Colon”.

In an incomparable environment, loaded with history, romance and religion; we spoke with a politician who works day by day for his region.  From the San Lorenzo Fort (Panama, Colon district) joined by Pedro Rios, governor of Colon.

Governor, how does it feel to be at the San Lorenzo Fort in your district; a place with so much history and incredible nature?

Definitely very happy, and thankful to God who has given us so much nature, we are here in a natural setting, we enjoy that, its paradise.

After your visits to Spain, you have found a new form of development for your region?

We have seen many people in Europe looking for natural places.  We have them, and we are beginning to discover what a great number of tourists are looking for, the tranquility and peace.  We have that in Colon.

COLON A HETEROGENEOUS PROVINCE

How would you rate your governorship in comparison with Panama City?

Colon is a heterogeneous province, its different form Panama City, the capital.  Here we have been blessed, because we are a port city where many people from different nationalities converge.  We have many colors, and that makes us feel good.

It’s a cosmopolitan place.

This allows us to learn from many people, whether they are European, Central Americans, South Americans, from the Orient…  We feel very comfortable with this cultural exchange.

Colon is starting to take off; we had a difficult previous administration, a bit forgotten by the government.  I think we are now going upwards; we are building a strong foundation.  Offering people trust, spiritual renovation, knowing that we can bring our province forward because we are surrounded by important ventures.

How is Colon impacted by the Free Zone?
Well, the truth is the Free Zone helps.  We can say that is one of the most powerful enterprises as far as employment goes; most of Colon works between there and the Canal.  However, the Free Zone provides us with a very spectacular showcase for the world.

Because it is a company that doesn’t pay taxes to the government, this resource doesn’t get to the State, so we are missing that reimbursement.  They provide a concrete global item, but that item is spread among all the provinces, regardless of it being produced by Colon.  The previous governors didn’t see that development and allowed the Central Government to manage and distribute it by population.

Colon had no power, if we had people in the government with the strength to pull towards that sector.  We had found a team that is rowing towards the same side, with a joined goal of pushing Colon forward, and we are going to make it.

CASTILLA DEL ORO WORKS FOR COLON

Colon’s flag has three colors, one of them is yellow; does the yellow stand for gold?

Definitely yes; we can say that there is gold in every river in Colon, we can say that because of God’s will, they have gold.  The truth is, they have found it in several areas, from coast to coast.

I have a farm and it also has a river, and you can see that golden glow around it, it is part of residues of gold deposits from the area.  There are people who rudimentary dig to find it.

What is the intervention of the Castilla del Oro Foundation?

It has been a surprise for us, there were many visionaries who said it could be done; but the Castilla del Oro Foundation, through Eng. Richard Fifer, were the ones who started the work.

Richard Fifer Carles is an architect of positive thoughts and strong opinions, after many years he achieved what many people would have left carelessly.  Today he has a gold factory in Donoso, a caudal, who many people doubted, but is yielding results.  And that gold is coming from those areas in the lower coast, specifically in Coclesito, they are starting to help people of lower resources.  That community was very neglected by the government.

June 2010, Panama

On Friday, June 25, 2010, the Petaquilla Foundation delivered, through Donoso’s mayor Feliciano Villarreta; foods and supplies to Mister Valentín Araya and Mr. Ángel Santos Castillo’s families; victims who lost their homes due to a gale.