Panama Approves Cobre Panama Copper Export Plan, But Mine Remains Shut

Panama has approved a maintenance plan for First Quantum Minerals’ FQVLF Cobre Panama copper mine, which was shut down in 2023 following mass protests and a constitutional court ruling.

However, officials clarified that approving the maintenance does not mean reopening the site, which contributed 130,000 ounces of gold per year and over 330,000 tons of copper, more than 1% of the global supply.

“The mine is not being reopened. We’re authorizing the implementation of the care and safe management plan to ensure it is environmentally protected,” Panama’s Trade and Industry Minister, Julio Molto, said at a press conference on Friday, as reported by Reuters.

Panama will permit the export of more than 120,000 metric tons of copper concentrate currently stockpiled at the facility. The purpose of the plan, officials said, is to prevent environmental degradation during the mine’s inactive phase.

First Quantum said the exported copper will generate funds to cover “preservation and environmental protection measures.” These maintenance costs include ongoing site monitoring to ensure the structural integrity of tailings and water management systems, personnel for security and environmental oversight, and measures to prevent hazardous leakage or ecological disruption during the shutdown.

Panama’s Environment Ministry will supervise the entire process. Government experts estimate the copper removal and export operation will take three to six months. “Supervision will be carried out to ensure that this material can be extracted and processed in the best possible way so that it can then be exported,” Molto stated.

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Cobre Panama, one of the largest open-pit copper mines in Central America, was forced to shut down in November 2023 after the country’s Supreme Court ruled that its operating contract was unconstitutional. The decision followed months of civil unrest and protests, some of the most intense in Panama’s recent history.

The mine’s closure has not only impacted First Quantum’s bottom line but also removed a key supplier from a global copper market already under long-term pressure. As it accounted for nearly 5% of Panama’s GDP, the loss created a fiscal void, resulting in S&P Global’s downgrade of Panama’s credit rating from BBB to BBB- in late 2024.

Although First Quantum had hopes for a shift following the 2024 presidential election, a year since José Raúl Mulino took office, tangible progress toward resuming operations at one of the world’s best copper mines has been minimal.

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