How Richard Fifer of Petaquilla Minerals (PTQ.to) treats his business partners

This month we've already seen the conviction papers that explain in clear detail how Richard Glenn Fifer Carles of Panama (and not some homonym in Miami) was convicted of narcotrafficking back in the 1970s, with half a dozen or so examples of  cocaine and marijuana pushing brought before the court, his conviction, his time locked away and his probation. So yes, despite his denials on the matter (he's now trying to play with his own name, call himself "Richard Carles Fifer" and confuse people into believing it's not him, FWIW) we know he's a convicted felon. But as a few mailers have pointed out, it was a long time ago, he did his probation and kept out of trouble afterwards and perhaps there's good reason to give him the benefit of the doubt and not to assume that leopards never change their spots.

Fair enough, so let's move on and see how Richard Fifer of Petaquilla (PTQ.to) treats people he goes into business with, shall we? This link will take you to a court decision in Panama dated May 4th 2000 regarding the case brought against Richard Fifer (via his company Minamerica Corporation) by Julio Benedetti (via his company Inversiones Geologicas SA). The court decision is in Spanish, but it's pretty clear stuff for those versed in the language and the main judgement is that Fifer (via his company) was ordered to pay back U$475,000 to Benedetti (via his company).OK, so Fifer lost his case, but the details of the action show Fifer in his true light. By way of a brief summary of the case, here are a few bullet points:

• In 1994, Inversiones Geologicas (the Benedetti company) lent Minamerica (the Fifer company) U$400,000 at a rate of interest of 9.25% annual. This interest was calculated to 1998 and explians the $475,000 total judgement against Fifer. 

• Fifer then got his company to lend him the money. In other words, he cleaned out Minamerica of all cash assets and we assume lived his own style of highlife on the $400k. And hey, that kind of wedge buys more than a single round of mojitos.

• When Benedetti (via his company) asked for his money back (we assume he went through the normal protocolar channels to do so), Fifer said something to the effect of "Minamerica is bankrupt, it has no money left, it's not my problem, sorry dude, you lose".

• So Benedetti then somehow finds out that Fifer asset stripped the company, pulled a fast one and was living on the money borrowed out of a company that he himself bankrupted.

• Then to the courts. Benedetti won.

Listen, those bullet points above are a mix of the facts of the case and a tad of interpretation of what probably went on, so I highly recommend you download your own copy and get the full info yourself. But even if the interpretation is a bit loose, we're really not going to be far away from the substance of Richard Fifer's idea of doing business. This very same dude now runs a gold mine in Panama! FerCryinOutLoud, you must be mad to put your cash to work under the auspices of a scumbag drug dealing fraudster like this. DYODD.

Mo' Richard Fifer

A lot of very interesting feedback and reaction to the post yesterday on Richard Fifer, chairman of Petaquilla Minerals (PTQ.to) so far, and for what it's worth I've spent a good chunk of this morning forwarding the original PDF to people (perhaps people with a slower download link speed are having the problems, because others get to download the 4.9Mb PDF without grief).

One point raised by a couple of mails has been "OK he did prison time for cocaine dealng but dude, it was 1975, he did his probation and may have turned over a whole new leaf" or words to that effect. Well maybe, as long as he had by then turned over a new leaf by and since then has been an upstanding member of the bizworld. Unfortuntely for the people who have had dealing with Fifer since his drug dealing days that's a crock, so next up we'll show you how he tried to defraud another member of the Panama mining community to the tune of nearly U$500,000 in the 1990's (with all the necessary documentary evidence, of course) and only got reeled in by the courts six years after the scam he pulled. New leaf my ass. Watch this space.

Richard Fifer, convicted drug dealer and chairman of Petaquilla Minerals (PTQ.to)

Don't fret, kissing one's wife at Christmas is not illegal

I think we'll just go with the facts on this one. Back when Richard Fifer (Chairman of the Petaquilla Minerals (PTQ.to) and vendor of the Panama Copper project to Inmet) was a youth of 18, he spent his days selling marijuana and cocaine in the US controlled canal zone of Panama. Y'know, just like any other scumbag who wanted to get rich and didn't care how it happened. That is until he got caught, arrested, thrown in jail and sent up before the judge where he pleaded guilty to the charges of both possession and distribution.

He was given a sentence of 18 months in jail, of which 90 days was under lock-up and the other 15 months suspended under four years of probation. He kept his nose clean during his probation period and was eventually discharged from probation by the courts. So how do we know all these details about a past that Richard Glenn Fifer Jr has always been at pains to deny ever happened? Simple; we've read the court documents, checked them for veracity and found them to be factual. Now you can check them out too, by downloading a PDF of the docs from right here (the file is 4.8Mb, so give it a bit of time, yeah?).

UPDATE: A couple of people have now written in saying they've had trouble downloading the PDF file (while others have had no such problem). If you're having problems, mail me and I'll send you a copy by return (but make sure your mailbox can handle a 5Mb dump).

Regarding Richard Fifer of Petaquilla Minerals (PTQ.to), cocaine, marijuana and prison

Richard Fifer, cocaine dealer

IKN would like to make it clear that Richard Glenn Fifer Carles, erstwhile governor of the Coclé region of Panama, qualified geologist and Chairman and main force behind Panama gold company Petaquilla Minerals (PTQ.to), does not have a criminal record for marijuana dealing.

The truth is that he has a criminal record for cocaine and marijuana dealing and has done his time in prison for the crimes committed, too.

Yeah, really. This guy is a drug dealing scumbag and the truth is upon us. Watch this space next week for the dirty details that he's tried to keep covered up for years.

It never rains in Southern California....

......but it never freakin' stops in Panama. Check out this rainfall map of the Coclé area, send in by kind reader 'JG' and compiled from Panamanian govt data. You see where 'Coclecito' is? That's right next door to Petaquilla Minerals (PTQ.to) and its Molejón trainwreck of a mine currently seeing its cup overfloweth (a cup filled with cyanide) right now.

Click to enlarge (gets big and easy to read)

It's incredible to think that this company had no emergency run-off tailing pond ready when it rushed into production early this year, something clearly stipulated as obligatory in the Evironmental Impact Study report. Irresponsible, thy name is Fifer.

UPDATE: A good overview of the story so far from the evergreat Bananama Republic that ties a lot of the strings together.

Cyanide spillage news, Panama edition (go on, guess which company?)

Yes, it's Petaquilla Minerals (PTQ.to). Here's the translation of this report in Panama's La Estrella newspaper.

COCLÉ: A presumed spillage of waters containing cyanide from one of the separation tanks at the Molejón gold mine, in the Donoso district (of Panama) run by the Petaquilla Gold company has been reported by its workforce and by Toribio Valdés, ex-representative of the San José del General administrative district.

According to Valdés, the employees said that, between 5pm and 6pm on the afternoon of last Thursday (Aug 12th) the dangerous chemical was spilled and entered into the Molejón river, feeding into the San Juan de Turbe river. Faced with this situation, the workers were evacuated from the Molejón camp number 5, he said.

Valdés said that previously the level of cyanide contaminated waters had spilled over from the tank limits, but on this occasion the containment walls did not resist the overspill and collapsed.

He added that the the construction of the containment walls are of poor quality and there is no "cutting edge technology" as the company claims. "We ask that the governmental institutions investigate, because the company always says these denouncements are false", said Valdés.

The other version

On the other hand, a source involved with the mining company's activities who was present at the mine until 3pm yesterday, said that everything was under control and there had not been any spillage.

He said that due to the intense rainfall on the Atlantic coast, the tanks used in the extraction process saw raised levels, but for precautionary measures the company has brought forward the construction of an emergency run-off pond that will probably be ready for use tomorrow Sunday 22nd. "Production was stopped and the risk is under control," said the source.

He also said that Richard Fifer, President of Petaquilla Gold, and other directors were on site to supervise the work.

Meanwhile, Edy Rosas, secretary general of the Industrial Union for Mining Companies of Panama (Sitraemio) said that the union was in constant communication with the company to ensure that all labour safety laws for mine workers were applied.

Carlos Salazar, spokesperson for Petaquilla Gold, told La Estrella that no rupture of the tanks had occurred, nor that there had been and spillage.

He said that the rumours of possible problems at the mine always rise during the rainy season and attributed the diffusion of these rumour to people that see inexistant dangers in any situation that, in the mining sector, are common and usual.

ANAM to investigate

Authorities of the regional office of ANAM (gov't environmental bureau) in Coclé said that they were willing to investigate, along with the public ombudsman, whether there had or not been a spillage.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!! Convicted Drugs Felon Bails on Gold Company

And thus the not-wanted-at-his-own-company-anymore convicted narcotrafficker who lives in Panama (hey! great place for a guy of his background, no?) Richard Fifer cashes out of the pig awful Petaquilla Gold (PTQ.to) and has himself a wodge of cash to keep his wife happy (hey man, gotta keep the wife happy). Here's the filing of the 160k shares he's dumped on an unsuspecting world in December:

Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. (PTQ)						As of January 3rd, 2010
Filing Date	Transaction Date	Insider Name	Ownership Type	Securities	Nature of transaction	# or value acquired or disposed of	Unit Price
Dec 31/09	Dec 29/09	Fifer, Richard	Indirect Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-25,000	$0.850
Dec 31/09	Dec 29/09	Fifer, Richard	Indirect Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-10,000	$0.840
Dec 31/09	Dec 24/09	Fifer, Richard	Indirect Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-9,000	$0.810
Dec 31/09	Dec 24/09	Fifer, Richard	Indirect Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-15,000	$0.800
Dec 31/09	Dec 24/09	Fifer, Richard	Indirect Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-10,000	$0.790
Dec 31/09	Dec 23/09	Fifer, Richard	Indirect Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-16,000	$0.810
Dec 31/09	Dec 22/09	Fifer, Richard	Indirect Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-25,000	$0.810
Dec 31/09	Dec 22/09	Fifer, Richard	Indirect Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-25,000	$0.800
Dec 31/09	Dec 22/09	Fifer, Richard	Indirect Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-24,500	$0.790
Dec 31/09	Dec 21/09	Fifer, Richard	Indirect Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-500	$0.800

Petaquilla (PTQ.to): LatAm's worst miner about to hit a serious cash crunch

We've documented just how bad this mining company really is on several occasions.

• We've mentioned the as-yet unpaid multi-million dollar environmental fines imposed by the government for reckless disregard for the law, the land and the people around the mine.

• We've observed that it's run by a convicted drug trafficker.

• We've noted the BS promo techniques via lapdog press friends and BS scammy expat bloggers in Panama.

• We've seen its flagrant disregard for correct procedure and how it produces gold even though it still has no licences to do so legally.

• We even know that Panama's ombudsman has recommended it closed immediately.

But we haven't mentioned the big big financial problems at PTQ.to yet.

If we check out the working capital position at PTQ.to, we see that according to the last earnings report it is in deficit to the tune of $7.7m or so. OUCH.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

Now that's a lot of money for such a pisspoor company, but the progress towards PTQ.to imminent cash crunch has now been made that much quicker by recent rulings from Panama's government. According to latest reports, in order for the company to make itself legal and get the licences it needs to operate, it will have to:

1) Pay its outstanding fines to the Environment agency ANAM that amount to U$1.93m

2) Pay its amount outstanding to the MICI commerce ministry, precisely $900,000

3) Deposit U$14.3m at ANAM as a bond to cover any future environmental fines caused by the company as well as final clean up charges.

And the funniest thing is that so far not a single dollar of the above U$17.3m is set aside as contingency by the company, so somehow they have to add all this burden on to the books in order to get a licence to operate. Or in other words, I sure hope you're not long PTQ.to right now, dude, because if you are there's a financially religious experience coming your way very soon. DYODD.

Petaquilla Minerals (PTQ.to): "About the company...."

CEO Fifer with another crook

Part of Fifer's wardrobe

Latin America's worst gold mining junior, Petaquilla Minerals (PTQ.to), currently poisoning first growth rainforest without any sort of environmental approval and illegally employing its staff, put out another BS news release this morning. Those of us that read a lot of PRs tend to skip the regulatory bits at the end of the releases...y'know, the bits about "forward looking statements" and "about the company" that come with nearly all such missives. But in the case of PTQ.to it's well worth looking to see how the "about the company" part has changed over the years.

For example, in today's PR the company states:

"Full commercial production is expected to occur in the second half of 2009."

Which, since we're at the end of June right now is understandable. I mean, how they gonna start up a mine in the next 48 hours? But still if we compare it to the PR dated April 9th, PTQ said at the time

"....the processing facility will reach its full rated capacity of 2200 tonnes per day in June 2009."

So two months ago they said "June 2009", and now they say "second half of 2009"? Hmmmm.... BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! Let's check back a bit further and see what this bunch of bullshit liars said on November 28th 2008.

"Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. is an emerging gold producer scheduled to bring its 100%-owned Molejon Gold Project into production in the latter half of December 2008."

Here's July 2008

"..Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. is an emerging gold producer scheduled to bring its 100%-owned Molejon Gold Project into production in 2008."

Here's January 2008

"Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. is an emerging gold producer scheduled to bring its 100%-owned Molejon Gold Project into production in fiscal year 2008."

Here's July 2007

"Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. is an emerging gold producer scheduled to bring its 100%-owned Molejon Gold Project into production in the third quarter of 2007."

What about January 2007?(this is a cute one)

"....The progress made at the project has reaffirmed management’s original schedule of performing the first gold pour in July 2007."

Anyone notice a pattern? Not the most difficult one in the world to spot, is it? If the fact that PTQ.to is run by crooks comes as a shock to you, please do yourself a favour and never invest in junior mining companies. Ever.

Petaquilla Minerals (PTQ.to) implosion watch

On April 9th, LatAm's worst mining company Petaquilla Minerals (PTQ.to) published this PR that claimed the company had made first gold pour (even though it was under a governmental stop work order due to its manifold environmental violations and had no right to do anything on the site, let alone produce gold) and that, to quote the lying scumbags:

"The Company maintains its previous estimate that the processing facility will reach its full rated capacity of 2200 tonnes per day in June 2009."

So here we are in June 2009. Now for sure it's only June 2nd and we could give the company another 28 days to make good on its prediction, but somehow I don't think they're going to make it. Why? Because it's difficult to run a gold mine after you've laid off your workforce.

This report (Spanish language) documents the clashes between riot police and the 400 workers at PTQ.to's Molejon mine who were suddenly and unexpectedly laid off by the company late May. The sacked workers proceeded to block the local main road in protest until the men in green moved in with sticks and tear gas. Eleven of the sacked miners were arrested (including this dude).

"Lost your job? No money? Let me give you a ride to the station, sir."

So you gotta wonder, what with nobody working there and that, if the company is going to make that June deadline, yeah? Isn't it strange how these things never get reported by the English language mining media that is too sycophantic to say anything against Canadian mining companies working in LatAm? This company stinks, Kosich, Wheeler, Koven...write it up.

Petaquilla Minerals (PTQ.to): Updating LatAm's worst mining company

Felipe Camargo: Noriega's henchman and convicted human rights
abuser is now Head of Security at Petaquilla Minerals...
you just can't get the staff these days, can you?

As birds of a feather flock together, the latest recruit to the empire of Richard 'lil dick' Fifer should come as little surprise. Its new head of security hired to keep the locals in check is a guy named Felipe Camargo. If that name rings a bell amongst all the Latin American modern history professors tuning in tonight let me refresh memories by saying that yes, it is the same Major Felipe Camargo who was head of the G-2 'Military Intelligence' army hit squad in Noriega's time and ol' pineapple face's right-hand man. Yes, it's the same Felipe Camargo that was in charge of Noriega's gun running operation. Yes, it's the same Felipe Camargo who was jailed after the overthrow of Noriega and later convicted in 1992 of human rights violations and yes, it's the very same Felipe Camargo with another 30 charges of human rights abuses left pending and unanswered.

That's the kind of guy who gets a job as "Chief of Security" under the scumbag Fifer and his worst-of-breed goldmine. I bet the Scrabble board doesn't get much use in the company canteen.

Meanwhile, locals have also stepped up their campaign against this aberration of an open pit slum and as of May 11th blocked the road to Petaquilla demanding that the government close the thing once and for all. The roadblock was solid and permanent until May 23rd (ie last weekend) when the local police were ordered to unblock the road by ultra-corrupt local politico for the Coclé region, thus the cops moved in, cracked heads, arrested 20 people including famed enviro activist Carmencita Tedman and the local head of the anti-mining lobby.

Also, despite the fact that the company is still in non-compliance with the national environmental laws it says it will be producing at a rate of 2,200tpd throughput as of next month. Its spokesidiot was also quoted in the local press as saying there is no proof that PTQ.to has polluted the local environment despite things like dead fish floating in rivers and the minor detail of a one million US dollar fine from the ANAM environmental agency that was slapped on its tush in 2008 and has so far refused to pay.

The company cannot legally operate. Got that? Without the environmental permit that it still does not have it should be under a total stop-work order. However it didn't stop these douchebags from claiming on April 9th that the mine had made first pour of gold. It ignores laws, collects fines and then refuses to pay them. It hires convicted human rights abusers to run its security operation (torture and rape were just two of Camargo's calling cards according to the judge) and then beats the living crap out of non violent protestors. Petaquilla Minerals and the people that run it are a pox on the reputation of all Canadian mining companies in Latin America. How can you possibly claim to be responsible when the whole industry, from fellow miners to brokerages to analysts to commentators to investors, turn a blind eye to companies like PTQ.to? Allowing Fifer and his woeful excuse of a mining company to continue reflects badly on the sector, not just one company. Ask yourself if you want a clean and respectable industry. If you do, join me in denouncing Petaquilla Minerals.

Postcard from PDAC: An addition to yesterday

NRI must have had a good night's sleep, as our superspy just remembered something else that went on over at the Petaquilla stand and wanted to add to yesterday's missive. Looks like Goldex is looking to sell its El Pato property in Guatemala and is not being very subtle about it, either. Here's NRI:

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Darn it, Otto, there's something important I meant to include in my report of my interrogation of Pet.rep, the CFO of Petaquilla Minerals...allow me:

Our discussion did not have a natural conclusion with our parting being preceded by a courteous adieu and a handshake. What happened was this guy in a suit with an exhibitor's name tag which said GOLDEX rushed up, butted in on my tete a tete with Pet.rep. and said to Pet.rep. : Want to buy a gold project in Guatemala? And Pet.rep. responded: Yes. We'll talk.

Otto, my point is not to draw attention to what a rude little prick the guy in a suit with a GOLDEX name tag was but to tell you how it shocked and amazed me that this Master of the Universe should be so indiscreet and careless about letting me in on his wheeling and dealing. I mean we are not talking about their dealing baseball cards or dope. Imagine if I were chatting with Yamana's Peter Marrone. What do you think the chances are that Tye Burt might rush up, interrupt, and say: Hey Peter. Wanna buy a gold project in Russia? Only a Kupolla million...

Isn't there some rule about a level playing field? Well, I intend to watch the share price action of PTQ.to and Goldex Resources - GDX.v - and if it develops that I could have made a profitable trade on this inside information to which I, but not all members of the public, was privy, I will send a postcard to the OSC as well.

Gotta go. No time here to tell you about my meeting Vena's Juan Vegarra the other night...just as well...my heart's still pounding.

later,

NRI

Postcard from PDAC: Low lies and high fives

Superspy "Codename NRI" is back with a second missive, direct from the heaving bosom of PDAC. If you missed the first, here it is. So here we go with the second NRI view of things. Enjoy (because I did...in fact it's a hoot).

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NRI here, with a few tales to tell...

I thought I should act on the suggestions of Otto, the incisive analyst, and locate a few of his interesting miners. I spotted the Petaquilla Minerals booth; and got straight to the point:

NRI: Aren't you the guys that have an unpaid fine?

Pet. rep: No. We don't owe a fine.
NRI: What do you mean?

Pet.rep. (defensively): They don''t have the authority to impose a fine.

NRI: Who?
Pet.rep.: The environment group. Only the Ministry. Nothing is being enforced against us.

NRI: Are you saying that the Ministry hasn't imposed a fine?
Pet.rep. : Not that I'm aware of.

NRI: Who are you?
Pet.rep.: Bassam Moubarak, the CFO.

NRI: The CFO...so, if a fine were imposed, you would know.
Pet.rep. : I'm not aware of any fine. A misconception in the media.

NRI: Which media?

Pet rep. responded but I didn't catch the reference. It sounded like a Panamanian newspaper.

This ended our exchange and I hurried off to a bench to sit and make a transcript of the questions and answers, while the exact words (as I recalled them) were fresh in my mind.

Now, Otto, if you find out that my interview might be of any help to Panamanian authorities I am responsive to providing evidence and would be delighted to have an expense paid trip to Panama for that purpose.

Digressing, I paid a visit to the booth of Eastmain Resources - ER.to - explorationists with some great projects in the James Bay area of Quebec, Canada, one of which is a JV with Goldcorp, which is developing the Roberto Mine on an adjacent property. ER is one of my favourites (I have shares) and I like their people a lot. I talked to one of the geologists, Cathy B, and she told me this PDAC has been very busy for them. I asked Cathy whether she and husband Don (ER's CEO) exhibited at the show in Phoenix last week. Cathy told me they had and, though they expected that it might be quiet, it was very very busy. Cathy told me that a coin dealer was set up right behind them; and he sold out his entire inventory - $173,000 in coins - in the first three hours of the show.

Returning to Otto's crib sheet, I really wanted to find Rob McEwen. Well my buddy, JG, informed me that the

McEwen companies - Rubicon Minerals, U.S.Gold, Lexam, Mineras Andes - were hosting a reception Tues eve at 1King St - a tony location in the power vortex of Toronto. Off I went - to this, my fourth reception so far, with the first three having been in suites in the Fairmont Royal York and the Intercontinental Hotel. Digressing again, the other night at the Royal York, a staff person told me that the PDAC is their biggest and busiest engagement of the year - and the one during which the most booze is served. Many many receptions are hosted simultaneously in each of several hotels. The McEwen reception was not in a suite - but in a ballroom! - and it was packed. I was given 2 bar tickets upon entry. Waitstaff circulated with platters of hors d'ouvres; rep's from each of the McEwen companies had stations to receive and respond to questions; and a photographer had a station to take one's photo as one held a 400oz. gold bar.

My buddy JG arrived and we connected. He told me that McEwen must be economizing, because last year, the bar was open - no 2 drink limitation - and there was a lot more food. I hadn't sighted Rob McEwen in the packed ballroom but JG had and pointed him out. I approached Mr. McEwen and waited for the couple who were chatting with him to finish; and then, responded to his greeting by thanking him for hosting this reception. I told him I had been following the Minera Andes story and was really glad that he had jammed Hochschild. Mr. McEwen responded that they deserved to be jammed. I asked whether he had heard about Inca Kola News; He had not. I told him this guy Otto had this blog and encouraged anyone spotting McEwen to highfive. Gawd love him, Mr McEwen immediately responded with the highfive. Anybody reading this: he is such an accessible guy. I have had an opportunity to speak with him before and my buddy JG told me that he once called one of the McEwen companies; and Rob McEwen answered the phone and was absolutely responsive to the questions which JG posited.

Wearing down here, I wanted to report on my meeting the charismatic and very impressive Juan Vegarra, the CEO of Vena Resources, and the question I didn't get to ask him; but I must sign off.

more later...
NRI

Related Post
Postcard from PDAC: Where have all the people (and freebies) gone?

Mining Executives and The Art of Translation

Here's what they say (from yesterday's Mining Journal)

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Inmet Mining will seek a strategic partner for its Petaquilla copper project in Panama, the Canadian miner's chief executive said on Wednesday.

Inmet took full control of the C$3.5 billion ($2.8 billion) project late last year after buying out the 26% stake held by Petaquilla Copper, and taking over the 26% stake abandoned by Teck Cominco as part of a cost-cutting move.

"It's very early days, but we recognise the fact that a project of this size would benefit from a strategic partner," Inmet chief executive, Richard Ross, said. "So, over the course of the next year or so, we're going to start to evaluate what our options are with respect to that."

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And now here's what it means, put through the special BizEnglish-RealEnglish version of Ottotrans™:

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Inmet Mining will beg for a strategic partner for its Petaquilla copper project in Panama, the Canadian miner's chief executive said on Wednesday.

Inmet got suckered into the C$3.5 billion ($2.8 billion) project right at the top of the market and just before spot copper did its swandive after paying multiples too much for the 26% stake held by Petaquilla Copper, and taking over the 26% stake abandoned by Teck Cominco because Teck knows when to cut its losses and throw its dogs aways.

"It's very early days, but we recognise the fact that we've made a right balls-up and a project of this size is way too much for us to do alone," Inmet chief executive, Richard Ross, didn't say. "So, over the course of the next five years we're going to stall and stall, not move forward in any way and pray to the market gods that either copper goes back over $3/lb or some other sucker takes it off our hands."