PANAMA CITY, Oct 10 (Reuters) – Panama’s council of ministers approved on Tuesday a contract between the state and a subsidiary of Canadian mining company First Quantum with changes requested by parliamentarians and after weeks of protests against the activity of the company, the company said. the presidency of the isthmus.

At the end of September, the Commerce Commission of the National Assembly (AN) recommended modifications to the contract, based on the main complaints from different sectors and communities close to the operation of the Cobre Panamá mine, which highlight the environmental impact of the exploitation of the Cobre Panamá mine. operation. , which represents 4.8% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The final text was agreed in March between the government and the company and was valid for 20 years with the possibility of renewal for another 20 years. Additionally, this would represent an annual income of $375 million for the country.

“It has been clarified that Minera Panamá can only explore, extract and exploit copper and its associated minerals within the concession area (…) The contract clearly states that it cannot extract minerals outside the area concession,” the presidency said in a statement. statement.

With these changes, the clause that allowed the mining company to request restrictions on airspace was also removed from the contract, and the one that provided that the State would grant a concession for exploration of gold, silver and molybdenum has been removed.

It also specifies that the State retains all its constitutional and legal powers of inspection and control, and that expropriation clauses have been removed from the contract.

In recent weeks, different sectors have organized demonstrations in various parts of the country to protest against mining activity. The amended contract will return to the Office of the Comptroller of the Republic before being sent back to the AN.

(Reporting by Elida Moreno; editing by Diego Oré)