Panama’s President blames previous gov’t for First Quantum mine crisis
The Cobre Panama mine paid the price for the accumulated national discontent, said President José Raúl Mulino.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd. is trimming working hours at its stalled copper mine in Panama in a bid to rein in the cost of preserving the site following last year’s shutdown order, the union said.
The Canadian firm will reduce extraordinary hours available to workers and end Sunday activities, according to a union statement. Changes will take effect Aug. 15. First Quantum declined to comment.
“The company is executing this action without support from the workers that are still there to keep the project afloat,” union leader Michael Camacho said in a text message Tuesday.
The decision may put some pressure on the new administration of President Jose Raul Mulino as authorities review First Quantum’s plan to safeguard the site. Mulino has floated the possibility of reopening the mine for an unknown period to cover the cost of a permanent closure.
As a precursor to those talks, Mulino has asked the company to drop arbitration proceedings against Panama. First Quantum said it spent $115 million on care and maintenance at the site from January to June. Panamanian authorities have set the shutdown cost at $800 million.
Mulino’s predecessor ordered the shutdown of the Cobre Panama mine last year after weeks of public protests culminated in the country’s top court ruling that First Quantum’s contract was unconstitutional.
(By Valentine Hilaire and Jacob Lorinc)
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