Panama delays copper mine decision pending social security reform

Panama President Jose Mulino will only take a decision regarding the future of the Cobre Panama mine after he resolves the issue of the country’s social security policy, a supplier of the Cobre Panama mine said after a meeting with the Panamanian president.

Abel Oliveros was among a group of suppliers who met with Mulino this week to seek a resolution after public protests led to the closure of the mine.

The office of the president did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Canadian miner First Quantum’s Cobre Panama mine, once the biggest and newest copper mine in the world, has been closed since 2023 after environmental protests and a court ruling pushed the government to order a closure.

The government has yet to decide the future of the mine even after the company filed an arbitration seeking damages of at least $30 billion. First Quantum has said the arbitration is its last option and it would prefer to resolve the dispute and find a way to reopen the mine again.

But before a decision on the mine is taken, the government has to approve the preservation and safety management plan that would allow First Quantum to export 120,000 tons of copper concentrate that is stuck in the mine.

The release of that copper could have an impact on the global price of copper.

When Mulino took charge in 2024, he said his top agenda would be to pass the social security reform and he would make a decision regarding the mine in the first quarter of 2025.

The reform needs to go through three rounds of debate in the Panamanian assembly, and so far only one round of debate has taken place.

“The Social Security Fund is something he wants to get out of, and after solving that, he will bring up the issue of the mine,” Oliver said. “There is still no route to say how they are going to do things, but that’s what he told us,”

On Tuesday, a senior executive of Cobre Panama told Reuters that the company was ready to share the royalties from the sale of copper concentrate with the Panama government.

Panama will celebrate a week-long carnival next week where most official work comes to a halt.

(By Elida Moreno and Divya Rajagopal; Editing by Lincoln Feast)