LA CASTILLA DEL ORO FOUNDATION IN SPAIN

Andalusia and the spring of 2012

Madrid, September 2011

La Castilla del Oro Foundation, led by Richard Fifer – Carles and presided by  Cristobal Colon in Spain will very important develop social and environmental labor  in the area of Cerro del Andevalo – Andalusia-. Along these lines, the concern about environmental topics is born, in this we will touch upon biodiversity.

INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF BIODIVERSITY

The Environment counselor, Jose Juan Diaz Trillo, presented in the Environment Comission of the Andalusia’s Parlament, the Andalusian Strategy of Integrated Management of Geodiversity, document that establishes the measures to protect and take advantage of the economic, touristic, educational, cultural and scientific posibilities of the geology patrimony of the autonomous community. Diaz Trillo pointed out that the Andalusian Community will welcome the Committee of the European Network of Geoparks  in spring 2012.

During his appearance, the counselor explained that its department has open lines of performance right now, regarding the management and sustainable use of geodiversity for a total of 3 millions euros, which it is believed will generate almost  11.000 wages in the areas where these enclaves are located.

Diaz Trillo indicated in the chamber that the strategy, with a validity of eight years, collects 93 actions directed to guarantee the preservation of the enclaves; to foster its sustainable use; to create an integrated management model; to promote the institutional participation of Andalusia in international programs such as ‘Geosites’ or ‘Geoparque’, and to develop environment educational programs and divulge of the values of the Andalusian geodiversity.

Among the programmed actions the Environment titular has described, the signing of cooperation agreements with owners stand out; the creation of a network of interpretacion centers and information sites, and the making of specific legal support for the Inventory of Andalusian Georesources  (IAG) with the definition of uses and permitted activities, particularly the speleological. In the updated edition of IAG 74, new enclaves have been included and 16 locations have been checked, which are already 662 catalogued sites: Almeria, 127; Granada, 114; Jaen, 100; Malaga, 83; Cadiz, 67; Huelva, 64; Cordoba, 62 y Seville, 45.

A network of tourist destination in the municipalities that form part of what in the colonial times was Castilla del Oro, would be established by the Foundation Castilla del Oro, with the objective that these would be one the various products and route that would be offered by Panama to the visitors, within the promotional package that would be offered outside the country.

And with the vision of the engineer Richard Fifer- Carles, the offer of the Foundation is variety: religious tourism, which legacy is materialized in the historical sites as the Church of Nata de los Caballeros, the Church of San Francisco de La Montaña, among others, as the forts of San Lorenzo and Portobelo, also the San Sebastian Inn of Ocu.

Also the folkloric potential with plays as the Museum of the Pollera in Las Tablas, and the renovation of plazas, parks and the construction of accommodation sites such as hostels, aimed at entrepreneurs.

Petaquilla Gold S.A., led by entrepreneur Richard Fifer-Carles, through its Environment and Hydrology department, has promoted the creation of Gardening Clubs in the towns near by the project, as well as starting the Petaquilla Reforests program which consists in supporting previously surveyed families with consumables and purchasing their production.

The Hydrology and Environment department has an operations center that counts with qualified staff, specialized in environmental topics, where all the reforestation and soil recovery activities that will be carried out are planned, which allows them to maintain control of the soil sedimentation and water sources.

The need for building materials and the high cost of transporting them to areas of difficult access in communities located near the Petaquilla Gold S. A. mining project led the company, under engineer Richard Fifer-Carles’s leadership, to launch an initiative to tap on the non-mineralized material removed from the Molejón deposit.

The “Petarcilla” sustainable development project is run by Panama Infrastructure Development (PDI) and, according to the company’s general manager, José Luis Dieguez, it will take advantage of material left over after metal is extracted in order to produce clay that will be used for building blocks and tiles.

Petaquilla Gold, S. A. published a paid advertisement in the La Estrella newspaper which reported that among the benefits of the “Petarcilla” project an improved quality of life for the general population and the increase in development projects in mining activity’s area of influence stand out.

The company Panama Desarrollo de Infraestructura (PDI), is the executive arm of Petaquilla Gold S.A. and as such is in charge of all the services offered to the Molejon mining project, fromearth moving, to drilling, and constructing civil works, stated its general manager, Jose Luis Dieguez.

Under the direction of businessman Richard Fifer Carles, the mining company has hired PDI to handle all the basic services including camp management, catering services, laundry, and maintenance to the mining facilities, said Dieguez.

He explained that after the construction phase of Petaquilla Gold’s plant, over 700 people who worked at the project were included in what used to be Petaquilla Hidro and were later divided to work in the areas of gold production or services related to the mining activity.