Interview with Carlos Salazar Petaquilla Gold S.A. spokesman

Veraguas Province

February 24, 2011

Interview with Carlos Salazar (Petaquilla Gold, S.A.’s spokesman)

by TVN-Canal 2

Santa Rosa Mine’s First Pit

Carlos Salazar: People always say the mines are open sky but it’s not true: it’s open pit, not open sky. No one has opened the sky yet. This gash, like the one in Petaquilla, is like the Panama Canal where, upon completing operations, the pits that were created with the gash filled up with water. I’m always asked: what’s done with those great pits, with those great holes that are made? Answer: well, great things are done, among them artificial lakes are created where you’ve seen there’s life, namely fish. Deputy Secretary Quijano was dared to drink water from here; well, I drank it and I also drank water from the Molejón, San Juan de Turbe and Colesito rivers and I’m going to take a dip because the water is delicious. The only risk this body of water may represent is that it may have a crocodile because in these types of hydric sources crocodiles move about in rivers and creeks and they start taking ownership of the zones. These areas have many of the characteristics of the zones they like to dwell in.

Carlos Salazar: In science’s and truth’s name, as Maxim Gorki used to say. On a wall in the university that I attended there was a billboard that stated “there is nothing greater than these two forces: science and work.” In science’s name, in work’s name and in truth’s name I perform this Proof of Life.

Santa Rosa Mine’s Third Pit

Carlos Salazar: As you can see from the area’s surrounding vegetation, there’s unequivocal proof of clean water. There’s no type of pollution here. We should reflect on everything we repeat like parrots in the media and large forums saying that after the Santa Rosa mining activities the mine turned into an environmental disaster. Where’s the environmental disaster? We have been able to see that even in this pit there are big fish named dogfish which the crocodile that live here feed on. And, if you pay attention, there you will see bigger sardines than we saw before. There’s no access where I can feel safe coming out from this pit, so I’m not going to dip in for physical reasons since I’m not going to be able to come out. Nevertheless, I came to drink water from all three pits and I already drank from two in front of you. Now I’m going to drink from this third one. If it’s necessary and you dare me again I’ll take the challenge and I’ll dip in the pit with all the necessary security precautions in order to come out and thus prove that the pits are clean and pollution free.

Interview, Ginna Hudson (Marketing Assistant and Web Page Positioning)

Juan De La Cruz Guerra (Cañaza dweller near the Santa Rosa mine)

Juan De La Cruz Guerra

There were meetings here with environmentalists where we asked them to bring something: a job source, development for the town, but it’s been 11 years now and they haven’t brought this town anything.

Ginna Hudson Sir, how was production development here in the Cañaza district?

Juan De La Cruz Guerra

Well, development was very good, there was a boom but, you know, when there’s a company and things don’t go too well, they leave; but we miss them, we’re jobless again.

Ginna Hudson

After mining exploitation, how have you seen animal development in this area?

Juan De La Cruz Guerra

Animals look healthy now and water isn’t polluted. If it were, the animals would be rickety; they’d be dying, and that’s not the case.

Ginna Hudson Do the inhabitants of the area fish in these pits?

Juan De La Cruz Guerra

R. Yes, that’s right. People come and pull from those bottles with holes in the middle. Then they break and fill up with rice and one throws it and there’s a lot of people who come to get sardines that way and they eat them. I haven’t seen anything happen here. What they’ve said are people’s tales for we haven’t seen a disease that big because the ones you see are the same I’ve always known.

II Proof of Life

Cañaza’s Santa Rosa Mine

Veraguas Province

Richard Fifer

Interview: Ginna Hudson and Esther Rodríguez

Juan De La Cruz Guerra (Cañaza dweller near the Santa Rosa mine)

Richard Fifer

Open gash’s first pit, known as Santa Rosa’s pit in Cañaza

Carlos Salazar, engineer, at the moment of performing the Proof of Life

Yogui Guevara (Petaquilla Gold worker), at the moment he passes the glass to Salazar to perform the Proof of Life.

Richard Fifer

Carlos Salazar, drinking water from the first pit in Santa Rosa’s mine in Cañaza. Petaquilla denies once again what the media has been repeating about environmental pollution generated by the mines.