On April 6 (Monday), Panama’s Trade Minister Julio Molto stated that the government plans to finalize a resolution by Tuesday to authorize First Quantum Minerals to ship ore from its closed Cobre Panama copper mine.
“We are ready to take this step,” Molto said at an event. “Between today and tomorrow, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry will draft a resolution allowing the company to begin clearing this material for export.”
First Quantum has previously indicated that approximately 38 million tonnes of stockpiled ore remain at the site, which could yield around 70,000 tonnes of copper.
The Canadian mining company noted that processing could begin roughly three months after receiving formal government approval, with the full process expected to take about one year.
President Jose Raul Mulino had already announced in January that the government intended to allow the removal of stockpiled ore from the mine.
Cobre Panama is one of the largest open-pit copper mines in the world. The operation was shut down in 2023 following protests by local communities over concerns related to tax contributions and environmental impacts.
[出处 – 上海有色网] 巴拿马拟授权第一量子矿业公司从已关闭的铜矿中发运矿石 https://news.smm.cn/news/103844223
