Panama asks First Quantum to end legal proceedings

Panama is urging First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM) to drop legal proceedings against the government at once if the company is serious about negotiating a restart of its shuttered flagship mine.Panama President Jose Raul Mulino told reporters he has authorized the export of stockpiled copper concentrate from First Quantum’s open-pit Cobre Panama mine. The company will need to reimburse Panama because the raw material will be processed abroad, he said.The concentrate “is being wasted, and Panama has invested a ton of money in it,” Mulino said Thursday at a press conference in Panama City. “The issue of the mine will be handled with great responsibility and by taking into consideration the national interest we need to protect.”Mulino’s predecessor ordered First Quantum to shut down Cobre Panama in 2023 following a Supreme Court ruling that declared the operation’s mining contract unconstitutional. At the time, Cobre Panama accounted for about 5% of the country’s gross domestic product and 75% of its exports. First Quantum has kept the copper concentrate stockpiled at the site since the closure.“Since the beginning of the administration, we have stated that no progress will be made or constructive dialogue established with the mining company as long as the arbitrations against the Panamanian state are ongoing,” Panama’s Commerce and Industry Ministry said in a statement issued Thursday. “Any possible rapprochement will depend on the immediate suspension of these proceedings. Panama will not accept pressure or imposed conditions that compromise its sovereignty.”Panama’s $10 billion copper mine faces tough road to restart“Once this action required by the government is completed, we will be able to move forward in authorizing, in an open and public manner, the destination of the copper concentrate mined” at Cobre Panama, the ministry added. “We will consider the environmental aspects and the best benefit for the country. Any decision will be taken with responsibility, transparency and in compliance with the law.”First Quantum is seeking billions of dollars in damages from Panama due to the mine’s closure. A final hearing for the case was recently postponed until 2026 to leave room for negotiations with the country’s government. The company says it has invested more than $10 billion to build Cobre Panama, a port and a power station.Panama is analyzing options to authorize the eventual use of the nearby thermoelectric plant “for the benefit of the national electrical system, with the guarantee that this decision does not imply a reactivation of the mining activity,” the ministry also said. “The sole purpose is to increase the supply to guarantee the provision of electricity service at a competitive price for residential and commercial users throughout the country.”All future decisions related to Cobre Panama “will be rigorously evaluated, ensuring that any measure taken responds exclusively to the interests of the country and its people,” the Commerce Ministry’s statement concluded.CEO Tristan Pascall said in February that the company was looking forward to “constructive discussions with the government and people of Panama for resolution of the situation” at Cobre Panama. “Arbitration is not the preferred outcome for the situation in Panama,” First Quantum said in its fourth-quarter report to shareholders.First Quantum didn’t immediately respond Friday morning to an e-mail seeking comment on the matter.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com