Petaquilla Board and Management Appointments

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Nov. 6, 2009) - Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. ("Petaquilla" or the "Company") (TSX:PTQ)(OTCBB:PTQMF)(FRANKFURT:P7Z) is pleased to announce that Mr. Joao Manuel has been appointed as the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Manuel joined the Company in December 2008 as its Chief Operating Officer after serving as the Chief Financial Officer of Petaquilla Copper Ltd. He will be leading the Company into its future production development phases and the continued exploration of the Petaquilla mining district where it owns a 100% interest in several large mineral concessions adjacent to the Molejon gold mine site. Additionally he will focus on the creation of shareholder value through the spin-off of the Company's fully owned subsidiary, Petaquilla Infrastructure Ltd., which was incorporated for the construction, operation and management of infrastructure facilities required for the development of the mining industry in Panama.

The Company is also pleased to announce that Mr. Richard Fifer, who has been involved with the Company's interests in Panama since 1992, will serve as non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors (see attachment) is looking forward to working with Mr. Manuel and Mr. Fifer in their new capacities.

In addition to the management changes above, the Company announces that it finalized a US$5,000,000 financing facility to strengthen its capital position as it advances the Molejon gold project to the commercial production stage. In this regard, the Company will shortly be providing a year-to-date report on gold production and an update on moving the mine into full commissioning.

About Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. - Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. is an emerging gold producer commissioning the operation of its gold processing plant at its 100% owned Molejon Gold Project. Anticipated throughput for the project during the first year of commercial production is estimated to be 2200 tonnes per day. The plant utilizes three ball mills and a carbon-in-pulp processing facility.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of
PETAQUILLA MINERALS LTD.

Richard Fifer
Chairman

ATTACHMENT

Daniel Small, David Levy, David Kaplan and Raul Ferrer have joined Richard Fifer as new directors of the Company.

Daniel Small is a Managing Director at the investment advising firm of Platinum Management (NY) LLC ("Platinum"), where he leads the firm's private placement group. Prior to joining Platinum, Mr. Small was a Senior Analyst, who served on the investment committee at Glenview Capital Management, a $7 billion hedge fund. He is a former Director of the Strategic Risk Group at Merrill Lynch responsible for a $1 billion multi-strategy proprietary investing platform. As a former Director in the Mergers & Acquisitions Department at SG Cowen Securities, he advised corporations in the financing and restructuring of public and private corporations. Mr. Small is a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and earned a doctorate in law from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

David Levy is a member of the private placement group at Platinum and has participated in over 25 capital raising transactions for public and private corporations. He specializes in structuring and negotiating financings at all levels of the capital structure through extensive industry research, financial analysis and modeling. Mr. Levy graduated with honors from Sy Syms School of Business of Yeshiva University.

David Kaplan is a key member of LIM Advisors LLC, a multi-strategy investment group. He manages a portfolio of metal and energy futures and securities for a commodity hedge fund. He is a former Vice-President of Gerald Metals Inc., financial analyst with Glencore Ltd., and graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Raul Ferrer is a leading financial advisor to a number of businesses operating in Panama, the second largest financial offshore center in the world. He is a former financial investments director with the Panamanian equity investment firm, Wall Street Securities.

The Company's new Board of Directors reflects the strong financial profile of its members and is aligned with Petaquilla's strategic goal to pursue a leadership role in the development of gold and copper opportunities in the emerging Panamanian mining industry.