Castilla del Oro Foundation wants to promote the religious tourism that highlights the historic legacy of sites like the San Francisco de la Montana Church and the Santiago Apostol Church in Nata de los Caballeros; or other such as the San Lorenzo Fort and Portobelo, along with Posada San Sebastian in Ocu.

During his tour of the central regions of the country, including Colon, the Duke was emphatic in stressing that what they want to do is bring the experiences with rural tourism development in Spain to populations in the country side of Panama, so that the economic cascade of tourism reaches the people involved in small activities and businesses that provide services to the visitors directly

Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. (TSX:PTQ)(OTCBB:PTQMF)(FRANKFURT:P7Z)(the “Company”) is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Petaquilla Gold, S.A., a signatory of the International Cyanide Management Code (the “Code”), has been audited by a lead auditor and a technical expert as part of the final process to become certified by the International Cyanide Management Institute (“ICMI”).

Companies that are signatories to the Code must have their operations audited by an independent third party to demonstrate their compliance with the Code. In this regard, Petaquilla Gold, S.A., once certified by the ICMI, will join only 14 other gold mining companies worldwide possessing this certification.

Within the next two months the technical expert will conclude a final review of the Company’s Molejon Gold Project to confirm compliance with minor recommendations prior to submitting the final report to ICMI for issuance of the official certification.

The ICMI was established to administer the Code, to promote the Code’s adoption and implementation, to evaluate its implementation, to manage the certification process and to make information on safe cyanide management practices widely available.

The Code is a voluntary industry program covering the manufacture, transport and use of cyanide in the gold mining industry. The Company supports the promotion of responsible management of cyanide used in gold mining for the purpose of enhancing the protection of human health and reducing the potential of environmental impacts.

About Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. Petaquilla is a growing, diversified gold producer committed to maximizing shareholder value through a strategy of efficient production, targeted exploration and select acquisitions. The Company operates a surface gold processing plant at its Molejon Gold Project, located in the south central area of its 100% owned 842 square kilometre concession lands in Panama – a region known historically for gold content. In addition, the Company has acquired 100% of the Lomero-Poyatos project located in the northeast part of the Spanish/Portuguese (Iberian) Pyrite Belt and several other exploration licenses in Iberia.

The responsible and clean mining done by the Petaquilla Gold Company is not limited to the exploitation of minerals; social programs being done on the surrounding communities of the project also accompany it.

The diverse assistance programs being conducted throughout the year by the Petaquilla Foundation are benefiting many communities.

Medical tours, among others, are one of the many activities being enjoyed by hundreds of people including children, adults and seniors.  The ambulance service and attendance to the residents through medical tours are part of this wide range of activities Petaquilla Gold Company pays to all the residents who in a way or another, have deposited their trust in this company led by the renown entrepreneur Richard Fifer Carles.

The Petaquilla Gold S.A social responsibility programs also include general medicine assistance, taking blood pressure and delivery of medication.

The communities also count with assistance of trained paramedics and aerial transportation through the company’s helicopter, in the event someone needs it.

The Petaquilla Foundation will not hesitate to give its maximum effort to maintain this company-community relationship they have established thanks to this permanent contact, which has earned them the affection of the residents.

Petaquilla Foundation is pleased with its staff of professionals and field workers, as together they have managed to earn the respect and admiration of the community, and reiterates the commitment agreed with national authorities to prevent pollution through strict security programs.

This is how Petaquilla Gold S.A. has demonstrated that its work is not specific only to the exploitation of mineral resources, but also share its labor with the people who work hand in hand the company and the communities located around the areas where Petaquilla Gold S.A. performs its clean and responsible mining.

The Petaquilla Foundation cares about promoting a sustainable development culture in the area of influence of the Petaquilla mining project, with an impact on the rest of the Republic of Panama.

To create and maintain social programs that promote the economical independence of the participants, supplying the necessary means for the communities to be able to develop and improve their quality of life.

The Duke of Veragua appreciating the folkloric expressions of Parita

After participating in a mass the day of Santiago Apostle, in the community of Parita, in the province of Herrera, the Duke of Veragua, Cristobal Colon de Carvajal, highlighted the Spanish cultural and religious legacy that survives in the ancient monuments and buildings, as well as the traditional festivals which are to this date held in communities in the interior of the country.

The Duke de Veragua received recognition by the municipal authorities of Parita, after recounting the relevance of Santiago Apostle in Spain, being the Holy Patron of the country, honored in all towns and cities of Spain.

“This festival of Santiago, which has a special reference because it is celebrated in all Spanish towns and has something that binds us with a religion and custom”, said Colon de Carvajal.

He stated that the appeal of communities such as Parita, will allow tourism to flourish in this district as it is very attractive to visitors interested in customs, culture and all the elements that identify the step of Spanish civilization by this community located in the province of Herrera.

He stated that we should not ignore the colonial style where we can find a good sample in the Church of Parita, as well as the square plaza, charted with Spanish arquitectural rules, and typical Spanish portals which remain in good conditions.

“All this is very interesting and we can identify it as a positive ideal that will interest tourists,” said the Duke de Veragua, who reiterated the mission of the Castilla del Oro Foundation which is to promote the development of tourism in the central regions of Panama.

He stressed that while the message is already well known by the local municipal and provincial authorities, “it is a message we hope will reach even the most economically impaired, who will be able to listen, because tourist development is something that generates many job opportunities”.

For his part, the Mayor of Parita, Alejo Millan Soto mentioned projects which the Castilla del Oro Foundation will be working on in the future also in other communities in the interior of the country.

Mr. Millan Soto commended the fruitful work carried out  so far and the support received by the Foundation, which seeks to promote and exploit religious and rural tourism. “We want to exploit this in conjunction with the Castilla del Oro Foundation organization, an idea which arose from businessman Richard Fifer Carles”, said the loquacious Mayor before a crowded group of journalists.

The Castilla del Oro Foundation aims to promote the sustainable development of these regions of Panama in order to generate wealth and well-being for its inhabitants, both now and in the future. Thanks to this initiative, the region will become a cultural, first class tourist destination, and will be provided with the necessary infrastructures to achieve this.

With this first goal of recovering this region back into the international tourist map, the entity will promote “Castilla del Oro” as a place where visitors can explore the history and steps of the adventurers of the 16th century and become the new discoverers of the 21^st century. In this region awaits an earthly paradise and a joyful land where the jungle, history and beach are embrace; a road to civilization and culture where time moves slowly and remains motionless to the passage of time.

The entity will recover the historical memory of the region, placing all folk traditions, both from first regions like those in Spain: from the music and dancing, crafts, regional costumes, religious rites and, in general, the folklore and character that have forged the idiosyncrasies of this town.

On the other hand, they will promote a series of infrastructures such as: A CONVENTION CENTER, HOTELS, THEME PARKS AND MOTELS among others; this will improve the quality of the stay of tourists, as well as the daily life of its inhabitants.

“The journal of Columbus is a journal, that not only narrates what it is happening, is a professional journal which contains vast technical information about winds, currents, the extensions which ports have, drafts, anchorages, it is technically very perfect”.

During an event organized by the provincial government of Cocle, the Municipality of  Penonome declared 156 Itallian tourists that visited the province, guests of honor.

The tourists were able to observe exhibitions of the region’s folklore and participated in the Itallian-Panamanian meeting.  In the image, the mayor in charge of Penonome, Dalia del Rosario, presents the Resolution to Claudio Panichi, legal representative of the Marizzi company, which activity is ceramic crafts.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire – April 6, 2011) - Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. (TSX:PTQ)(OTCBB:PTQMF)(FRANKFURT:P7Z) ("Petaquilla" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding letter of intent ("LOI") with Iberian Resources Corp. ("Iberian"), pursuant to which the Company proposes to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Iberian (the "Proposed Transaction").

Iberian is a private British Columbia company that owns 100% of the Lomero Poyatos mine through its wholly-owned Spanish affiliate Corporacion de Recursos Iberia S.L. Lomero Poyatos is located about 110 kilometres northeast of Seville, in the heart of the Iberian Pyrite Belt. Iberian also owns several other exploration licenses in Iberia through its wholly-owned Spanish and Portuguese affiliates, and soon expects to receive a small scale mining license for its Banjas concession in Portugal.

Pursuant to the terms of the LOI, it is proposed that each common share of Iberian will be exchanged for 1.3 common shares of Petaquilla, which will result in 39,205,906 additional shares being issued by the Company, valuing the transaction at approximately US$41 million. This corresponds to the low-end value of Behre Dolbear’s independent valuation of Lomero Poyatos. Petaquilla currently has 176,379,501 common shares issued and outstanding.

Iberian currently has 1,511,248 warrants outstanding, each of which is exercisable for one common share of Iberian at exercise prices in the range of US$0.14 to US$0.60 per common share. Subject to the terms of the warrants and applicable law, the LOI provides that each Iberian warrant issued to (i) non-insiders of Iberian, being 430,576 warrants, will be exchangeable for a warrant of Petaquilla, which in turn will be exercisable for 1.3 common shares of Petaquilla; and (ii) insiders of Iberian, being 1,080,672 warrants, will be exchangeable for a warrant of Petaquilla, which in turn will be exercisable for one common share of Petaquilla, all for the same exercise price provided under the original Iberian warrant.

Iberian currently has options outstanding for the purchase of an aggregate of 3,357,313 common shares of Iberian at exercise prices in the range of CDN$0.10 to US$0.60 per common share. Following the closing of the Proposed Transaction, subject to obtaining all necessary approvals, it is anticipated that such options will become options to purchase an aggregate of 3,357,313 common shares of the Company at the exercise prices provided under the current Iberian options.

The Proposed Transaction is subject to, among other things, negotiating and entering into definitive agreements between the parties and obtaining appropriate approvals from the Toronto Stock Exchange and shareholders of both Petaquilla and Iberian.

This Proposed Transaction is part of a previously defined strategy for geographical diversification of the Company, particularly focused on building a strong presence in mining-friendly jurisdictions of recognized mineralization potential, such as the Iberian Pyrite Belt, where the Lomero Poyatos deposit stands out as an exceptional opportunity.

The Company is committed to the development of Lomero Poyatos and will be working with Behre Dolbear, SGS and the University of Madrid to complete a report on the project compliant with National Instrument 43-101, which the Company expects to be finalized during the fourth quarter of the current calendar year. The Lomero Poyatos project already holds a production license.

By approving the LOI, the Board of Directors of Iberian has recognized the benefits of joining a world class gold producer and its privileged access to management expertise, technological know-how and capital markets.

BEHRE DOLBEAR’S PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE LOMERO-POYATOS MASSIVE PYRITE (Au-Ag-Cu-Pb-Zn) MINE IN ANDALUSIA, SPAIN

The Lomero Poyatos mine formerly mined about 2.6 million tonnes of massive pyrite for use as raw material for the manufacture of sulphuric acid. The mine closed in 1992 and since then has been investigated by several companies as a possible gold-silver-copper-lead-zinc deposit.

Iberian commissioned Behre Dolbear International Ltd, in association with Gemcon Software International Ltd, to carry out a review of the available data pertaining to the Lomero Poyatos mine in order to confirm the previous mineral resource estimates (by SRK, 2002 and WAI, 2007).

As there have been no feasibility studies carried out and there has been no decision made as to whether the deposit would be mined by open-pit or underground methods, there is no basis for deciding what would be an appropriate cut-off grade, nor any basis for estimating the likely mining and processing costs. Therefore, the deposit has been treated as an exploration stage project.

Mineral Resource Estimate

The mineral resource estimate was based on the following assumptions:

• A data-base of existing drill hole data was compiled from previous exploration records comprising about 50 surface drill holes and a similar number of underground drill holes.
• The deposit was defined as all mineralisation assaying greater than 25% sulphur and a computer generated block model was constructed using Gemcon© software to define the shape and size of the deposit.
• Based on Ordinary Krigging methods the tonnage and the average gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc grades of this +25%S deposit were estimated. 
• The tonnage was based on an assumed bulk density (SG) of 3.3.
• No cut-off grade was applied. 
• The resources were assigned an Inferred classification (JORC Code, 2004).

The total Inferred Mineral Resource was estimated at 30.4Mt at 2.31 g/t of gold, 46.56 g/t of silver, 0.67% copper, 0.67% lead and 2.35% zinc containing 2.26 Moz Gold and 45.51 Moz Silver when applying a 25%S cut-off only.

This preliminary assessment is preliminary in nature. It includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the preliminary assessment will be realized.

Qualified Person

Richard James Fletcher is qualified to act as a "qualified person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 and accepts responsibility for the information on Exploration Results and Mineral Resource Estimate in this report. Behre Dolbear affirms that Mr. Fletcher:

• is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy; and
• has more than 40 years experience in the estimation, assessment and evaluation of mineral resources and ore reserves that is relevant to the styles of mineralization and the types of deposits under consideration.

About Petaquilla Minerals Ltd.

Petaquilla is a gold producer operating its gold processing plant at its 100% owned Molejon Gold Project in Panama. The Molejon mine site is located in the south central area of the Company’s 100% owned 842 square kilometre concession lands, a region known historically for gold content.

Disclaimer

This press release includes forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this news release, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the Proposed Transaction, the estimation of mineral resource estimate and the realization of mineral resource estimate, constitute forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors beyond Petaquilla’s control that would cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Petaquilla to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements including that the Proposed Transaction may not be completed for any reason. Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding successful completion of the Proposed Transaction, Petaquilla’s present and future business strategies and the environment in which Petaquilla will operate in the future. Any forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this document. Petaquilla expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Petaquilla’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based, except to the extent required by applicable law. As a result of these factors, the events described in the forward-looking statements in this press release may not occur either partially or at all.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of

PETAQUILLA MINERALS LTD.

Richard Fifer, Director and Chairman of the Board

Vancouver, BC – April 5, 2011: Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. (the "Company") is pleased to announce that the President and Vice-President of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli and Juan Carlos Varela, visited the Company’s Molejon gold mining project yesterday.
During their visit to Petaquilla’s mine site and tour of the Molejon gold plant, Messrs. Martinelli and Varela were able to observe the successful extraction of and production of gold. Since commercial gold production commenced, the Company has generated employment, greatly contributed to the development of Panama, particularly the mining industry, and has become the largest exporter in Panama.
About Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. - Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. is a gold producer operating its gold processing plant at its 100% owned Molejon Gold Project in Panama. The Molejon mine site is located in the south central area of the Company’s 100% owned 842 square kilometre concession lands, a region known historically for gold content.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of
PETAQUILLA MINERALS LTD.
Rodrigo Esquivel Klein
President

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Petaquilla Minerals Ltd.
Phone: (604) 694-0021 Fax: (604) 694-0063
Toll free: 1-877-694-0021
www.petaquilla.com
NO STOCK EXCHANGE HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN.

When the word mining comes to mind, most of us imagine a man wearing a helmet carrying out mining duties. The truth is, even though mining has been traditionally a male dominated work environment, women during the past decades have joined the mining labor force not only in administrative offices but also in the field.

Nowadays it is common for women to be working as Geologists or Engineers. In the world of modern mining, there is no longer a gender division and equal laws regarding gender opportunities exist in practically every modern country. Any woman interested in working in the mining industry is able to do so. Diligence, teamwork and responsibility are probably the main key skills and values every mining company looks for in a future employee regardless of gender.

Mr. Carlos Salazar as spokesman for Petaquilla Gold accepted the challenge to prove once again that there was no mining trail or any pollution to the environment.

The challenge Mr. Quijano brought to the Deputy Minister, to drink water from the Santa Rosa mine in Cañazas.  This mine was closed 13 years ago.

Petaquilla Gold once again meets the needs of the communities surrounding the mining project by responding in difficult moments, through the Petaquilla Foundation.