The Minister of Commerce and Industries, Ramón Martínez, confirmed that the mining company has accepted all the environmental points proposed by the government during the negotiations.
As part of the renegotiation process that the State is conducting regarding the concession contract for the Cobre Panamá project, operated by Minera Panamá (now First Quantum Minerals Ltd), a series of agreements have been reached in the environmental field, concluding the discussion on this topic at the negotiating table. The Minister of Environment, Milcíades Concepción, explained that among the agreements reached are the following points: the creation of an office within the mining concession area responsible for supervising, controlling, and overseeing environmental, labor, and other relevant activities; the establishment of an obligation to maintain a permanent maintenance program for all mining works, infrastructure, and project services; the development of a Contingency Plan and the installation of a real-time monitoring system with monitoring stations for the immediate response to environmental incidents and emergencies; the compilation of a database on soil conditions; and the presentation of a Mine Closure and Post-Closure Plan.
Ramón Martínez, the Minister of Commerce and Industries, stated that the points presented during the negotiations were proposed by the government, and the mining company accepted them without objections. The minister reiterated that the appointed team acts in line with national interests, which include maximizing the benefits derived from copper mining at this mine. Martínez emphasized that copper is a Panamanian resource, and its exploitation should be beneficial for the country while respecting its territorial sovereignty. He also noted that the Panamanian state aims to align mining contracts with international standards to ensure best practices in mineral exploitation activities.
Martínez anticipated that the next point of discussion with Minera Panamá will focus on labor negotiations. The Minister of Commerce and Industry mentioned that today’s proposal was motivated by an initiative from the Minister of Labor, Doris Zapata, related to labor aspects linked to the percentage of foreign workers who can participate in this activity. These are the current topics under debate, and therefore, I cannot reach a conclusion at this time, Martínez stated. To carry out the renegotiation, the Panamanian government has convened a high-level commission that includes government representatives, national negotiating experts, and a group of international experts.
COBRE PANAMA MINERIA COBRE FIRST QUANTUM COBRE PANAMA MINERIA COBRE FIRST QUANTUM COBRE PANAMA MINERIA COBRE FIRST QUANTUM
