Panama's government will decide in January whether to allow the export of 130,000 tons of copper concentrate left at the Cobre Panama mine following its closure. Environmental authorities have deemed the stockpile safe for now, but First Quantum, the mine's operator, has called for its immediate removal due to potential risks.
First Quantum 's Cobre Panama mine, which was forced to shut down after Panama's top court ruled that its contract was unconstitutional following nationwide protests opposed to its continued operation.The mine, one of the world’s top sources of copper, was shut down in November after Panama’s Supreme Court declared Canadian First Quantum ’s contract with the country unconstitutional, a move that followed environmental protests.
Since then, commodities markets have been watching to see what decision Panama’s government takes on whether it will allow the export of the 130,000 tons of copper concentrate left behind after the mine’s closure. Mulino said environmental authorities visited the site a little over a month ago and concluded that the stocked copper was environmentally safe for the moment. Environmentalists as well as mining companies had raised concerns over risks from leaving the copper on site. “I asked Minister (Juan Carlos) Navarro to conduct that investigation, and he says there is no environmental threat right now,” Mulino said at his weekly news conference. He added that the government plans to decide in January whether First Quantum’s proposed maintenance plan for the mine, known as Cobre Panama, can move forward. First Quantum declined to comment. The company in a statement in April called for immediate removal of the copper concentrate to mitigate potential problems. “Due to prolonged storage pending export authorization, increased drying and chemical reactions that produce hazardous gases and elevated temperatures are being observed in monitoring, posing significant health, safety and environmental risks,” the company said in the April statement. A plan for removing the copper must address payment for the metal, as well as an ongoing protest against the mine by fishing boats that are blocking the mine’s pier, Mulino sai
Cobre Panama First Quantum Copper Panama Environmental Concerns
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