Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. Appoints Pedro Permuy To Board Of Directors

Friday, January 27, 2012 11:27 AM

Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. (TSX: PTQ.TO )(OTC.BB: PTQMF.OB )(Frankfurt: P7Z.F ) has appointed  Pedro Pablo Permuy to the company’s board of directors. Currently, Permuy holds the position of senior vice president in charge of government relations and communications at ABSi Corp. He previously was a director at Greenber Taurig, LLP, located in Washington D.C., where he represented key private and public sector clients before federal agencies and congress. Permuy has received several awards for his work, among them from  former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and from the President of the Republic of Colombia. Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. is a growing, diversified gold producer and operates a surface gold processing plant at its Molejon Gold Project in Panama. The company has also acquired the Lomero-Poyatos project, located in the Iberian Pyrite Belt in Spain

By Cecilia Tulikowski-Denison of Kitco News; ctulikowski@kitco.com

Ivanhoe Expects To Maintain Majority Of Independent Directors On Ivanhoe Board

Friday, January 27, 2012 11:27 AM

Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN)(NYSE:IVN)(NASDAQ:IVN) says that the company will continue to maintain a majority of independent directors on its 14-member board of directors despite Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) stating they expected to gain a majority in seats. Rio Tinto filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday and they anticipate gaining more than a majority of the seats on the Ivanhoe Mines board by seeking the replacement of a majority of the present roster of directors who were not appointed by Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto currently has seven nominees on the Ivanhoe Mines board, including four independents. "The four incumbent independent directors nominated to the Ivanhoe Mines board by Rio Tinto have done an outstanding job representing the interests of all shareholders of Ivanhoe Mines," Peter Meredith, deputy chairman of Ivanhoe says. "We look forward to maintaining a highly capable and motivated board to ensure that the company is managed in the best interest of all shareholders, even as new independent directors may be added." Rio Tinto announced on Jan 24 that it had increased its ownership stake in Ivanhoe Mines to 51%, from 49%.

By Alex Létourneau of Kitco News; aletourneau@kitco.com