Panama's President gives final approval to major copper mine contract
PANAMA CITY - Panama's President on Friday gave final approval of a law authorising a new long-term contract for a major copper mine following lengthy negotiations that will ultimately provide state coffers with much more revenue from the project.
The contract covers operations of a local subsidiary of Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals at the Cobre Panama mine.
The Bill was overwhelmingly approved earlier on Friday by lawmakers in Congress. President Laurentino Cortizo's approval, made official in the government's gazette, was the last step to green-light the contract.
The new contract's terms guarantee a minimum annual income of $375-million to Panama's government, and will be effective for 20 years with the option to renew.
First Quantum paid $61-million in royalties in 2021.
Cortizo's administration and the Canadian miner initially agreed on text for a renewed contract covering the Cobre Panama project in March. But approval then proved elusive, as some legislators demanded changes to some clauses.
An earlier version of the contract was modified to remove clauses such as one allowing the subsidiary to request airspace restrictions, and another that would have extended its remit beyond copper and its associated minerals to also include gold and silver.
Contract negotiations sparked local protests over the mine's environmental and economic impacts. Several streets were closed in the Panamanian capital as hundreds of people demonstrated against the massive open-pit mine.
Felipe Argote, an economist, criticized the contract on social media, claiming First Quantum will take much more from the country economically that it contributes.
Trade and Industry Minister Federico Alfaro said the company's remit is limited to copper and its associated minerals, but no precious metals, in an area of some 13 000 hectares.
He said the contract's final approval will send a positive message to future investors.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Showroom
AxFlow AQS Liquid Transfer (Pty) Ltd is an Importer and Distributor of Pumps in Southern Africa
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
