Panama president says moving toward reopening contested mine

The Cobre Panama excavation was closed by the courts successful 2023 pursuing weeks of crippling protests implicit its biology impact. Photo: MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP/File
Source: AFP

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said Thursday that his authorities was moving toward the reopening of Central America's biggest copper mine, contempt fierce absorption from environmentalists.

Mulino said the open-pit mine, which was operated by a subsidiary of Canada's First Quantum Minerals until its closure by the courts successful 2023, would beryllium a "Panamanian operation."

Mulino wants to restart the Cobre Panama mine, located adjacent the Caribbean coast, to boost the Panamanian economy, though helium did not clarify however helium plans to flooded ineligible obstacles.

"The indispensable contacts person begun to beryllium established," Mulino said astatine his play quality conference.

"The excavation belongs to Panama," helium said, adding that the Central American federation would tally it helped by "an relation successful complaint of the method aspects."

"It volition beryllium a Panamanian operation, not a declaration with anyone else," helium added.

The reopening would beryllium done "within the law," and "based connected an economical payment that is besides desperately needed," Mulino said.

Cobre Panama, which began operations successful 2019, had produced astir 300,000 tons of copper ore a year, representing 75 percent of the country's exports and astir 5 percent of its nationalist economical output.

It employed astir 37,000 workers straight and indirectly.

In November 2023, pursuing weeks of crippling protests implicit the biology impact, Panama's Supreme Court ruled that a concession declaration signed by erstwhile president Laurentino Cortizo's authorities was unconstitutional.

In response, First Quantum initiated planetary arbitration proceedings seeking $20 cardinal successful compensation.

The institution said past period that it would suspend the enactment aft starting talks with the authorities connected reopening the mine.

Opponents enactment that Congress approved a moratorium successful 2023 prohibiting caller metallic mining concessions.

"There is nary mode Mulino tin reopen the excavation without successful immoderate mode violating the constitution, the Supreme Court ruling, the existing ineligible framework, and the fashionable will," Raisa Banfield, person of the Sustainable Panama civilian nine group, told AFP.

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Source: AFP