By Ing. Jacinto Rodriguez D., translated by Carl Nelson

Bellhaven has a proactive policy of environmental and social awareness. Panama is a tropical country, part of the reason that attractive deposits have remained hidden for so long. Bellhaven is determined to responsibly address the challenges presented by the tropics to mineral exploration and development. Panama is also host to several Indian tribes. Bellhaven is currently setting an example for the mining community in the social arena; it is the first company to conclude an exploration agreement with the Ngöbe Buglé tribe, whose tribal lands include many of the prospective mining areas of the Panamanian highlands.

Seven separate Indian tribes live in Panama including the Buglé, Bri-Bri, Emberá, Kuna, Naso, Ngöbe y Wounaan. Indians represent 10% of the population and occupy 23% of the country (75,517 km2). However, only 52% of the indians live on Comarcas; the remainder mix with the local Latino population.

At the present time, the Ngöbe tribe numbers over 180,000 and is the largest in Panama. They share a Comarca with roughly 10,000 members of the Buglé tribe. The Ngöbe-Buglé Comarca is divided into three regions: Ñö kribo, Nedrini y Ködrìri.

Aurum Exploration, a Panamanian subsidiary of Bellhaven Copper & Gold, currently has three metallic mineral exploration concessions or concession applications within the Comarca boundaries. The Cerro Chorcha project falls within the Ñö kribo region; the Rio Liri and Cerro Caballo concessions fall within the Ködrìri region.

Aurum has, since its founding, maintained an active social program in the communities where it operates. This social program is coordinated by a staff of professionals who work with the community to serve their needs and explain the exploration activities conducted by the company.

Programs conducted by the company focus on the needs of the community and include: repair and maintenance of access roads, purchase of school supplies, assistance to local cooperatives, and operation of a three-day-per-week medical clinic.

The accompanying posters provide photographs of various social activities conducted by the company to date along with a brief description of the program objectives.

The company and its social services staff also serve surrounding communities in the areas where we are active. Examples include the towns of La Pitaloza on the Azuero Peninsula and Los Hatillos in the Veraguas Province.

The first row of photos shows children from the town of Cerro Pelado. Aurum worked with the local parents' organization to supplement meals provided by the school cafeteria.

The second row of photos shows school supplies provided by the company to elementary school students of Cerro Pelado.

The third row of photos shows company-sponsored maintenance and improvements to the main access road at Cerro Pelado. Work was conducted over a total distance of 15.53 miles, the first that had been undertaken in over ten years.

Click here to view the poster created for this program.
 

This poster shows photos from the company's principal social project: an initiative to improve the health of the local population and by providing treatment and instilling skills based on preventative medicine.

The second row of photos shows meetings conducted to introduce the company to the local population and decide how best to serve their needs.

The company sponsored a visit to the Panama Canal for the graduating class of the local elementary school. The group, many of whom had never left the local community, learned first-hand about the canal, the surrounding ecosystem, and the principals of sustainable development that allow both to exist side by side.

Click here to view the poster created for this program.


Pitaloza Medical Clinic
This poster shows a medical clinic organized for the community of Pitaloza on the Azuero Peninsula on July 16, 2005. A number of doctors donated their time and the company pitched in with transportation and medical supplies. Services offered included general medical attention, vaccination, and dentistry.

Click here to view the poster created for this program.