The President of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo, ordered this Thursday (15.12.2022) the cessation of operations of the Canadian copper company First quantum minerals (FQM) which operates the largest mine in Central America in the Panamanian Caribbean.

“I’ve decided […] instruct the Minister of Commerce to execute a safe preservation and management plan, i.e. [solo] care and maintenance in the project Panama copperCortizo said in a televised message.

The president’s decision, backed by his council of ministers, involves suspending operations in the country of a company that contributes 75% of exports and 4% of Panama’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Cortizo said that Panamanian mining, the subsidiary of FQM, “has not fulfilled the commitments” to sign by December 14 a new concession contract which would bring the amount of royalties to 375 million dollars per year, 10 times more than in the previous one OK. “It is not acceptable for me as president, neither for the government nor for the Panamanian people,” added the social-democratic president.

The company has invested in Panama more than 10,000 million dollars in earthworks, the construction of buildings to house its 7,200 employees, the purchase of heavy machinery, a power station, a port for merchant ships draft, access roads, reforestation and community support programs. .

The mine, discovered in 1968, is located on the Caribbean coast, 240 km by road from the capital and an hour by helicopter. Since February 2019, it has produced some 300,000 tonnes of copper concentrate per year, which is exported from the port of Punta Rincón, adjacent to the deposit.

FQM, which is listed on the Toronto board, also has operations in Spain, Turkey, Finland, Australia, Zambia and Mauritania. The Canadian company began to have difficulties in Panama after the Panamanian Supreme Court on December 21, 2017 declared the contract for the exploitation of this mine, the largest in Central America, unconstitutional.

The court took this decision after an appeal for unconstitutionality against the contract presented by lawyers Juan Ramón Sevillano and Aracelly Serracín, the latter representing the NGO Centro de Incidencia Ambiental (CIAM).

“The actions taken today by our government guarantee the principle established in our Constitution: the mineral resources of Panama belong to the Panamanian people,” Cortizo said in his message on Thursday. “Rest assured that the national government will seek the best options to ensure the sustainable operation of the mine through a fair contract” with another company, he added.

likes (afp, efe, Reuters, ap)