Panama will not offer a new mining contract to Canada’s First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM), President José Raúl Mulino said, signalling a hard line in the ongoing dispute that has kept the company’s $10 billion Cobre Panamá copper mine shuttered since late 2023.
Speaking at an industry event in Panama City, Mulino said the path forward remained uncertain but noted he remained open to forming an association with First Quantum.
“I can’t tell you yet what path (we) will follow. The only path that won’t exist is a legal contract, and I announce it here that there will be no legal contract for mining,” Mulino said, according to local media.
He stressed that any new legal contract would require approval from the national assembly, which he said is not willing to back such a deal. Instead, he proposed a structure that would make clear the mine belongs to Panama and its people.
Mulino…
