Panama president says moving toward reopening contested mine

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said Thursday that his government was working toward the reopening of Central America's biggest copper mine, despite fierce opposition from environmentalists.

Mulino said the open-pit mine, which was operated by a subsidiary of Canada's First Quantum Minerals until its closure by the courts in 2023, would be a "Panamanian operation."

Mulino wants to restart the Cobre Panama mine, located near the Caribbean coast, to boost the Panamanian economy, though he did not clarify how he plans to overcome legal obstacles.

"The necessary contacts have begun to be established," Mulino said at his weekly news conference.

"The mine belongs to Panama," he said, adding that the Central American nation would run it helped by "an operator in charge of the technical aspects."

"It will be a Panamanian operation, not a contract with anyone else," he added.

The reopening would be done "within the law," and "based on an economic benefit that is also desperately needed," Mulino said.

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Cobre Panama, which began operations in 2019, had produced about 300,000 tons of copper concentrate a year, representing 75 percent of the country's exports and about five percent of its national economic output.

It employed around 37,000 workers directly and indirectly.

In November 2023, following weeks of crippling protests over the environmental impact, Panama's Supreme Court ruled that a concession contract signed by former president Laurentino Cortizo's government was unconstitutional.

In response, First Quantum initiated international arbitration proceedings seeking $20 billion in compensation.

The company said last month that it would suspend the action after starting talks with the government on reopening the mine.

Opponents note that Congress approved a moratorium in 2023 prohibiting new metal mining concessions.

"There is no way Mulino can reopen the mine without in some way violating the constitution, the Supreme Court ruling, the existing legal framework, and the popular will," Raisa Banfield, leader of the Sustainable Panama civil society group, told AFP.

Source: AFP