First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (TSX:FM) is set to incur approximately $20 million in monthly costs to maintain its idled Cobre Panamá copper mine, one of the largest copper operations in the Americas. The figure, confirmed by the Panamanian Mining Chamber, reflects the financial burden of a new care and maintenance plan recently approved by the Panamanian government.
The mine, a $10 billion open-pit project located in the Colón province of Panama, has remained inactive since late 2023, when a presidential decree ordered its shutdown amid legal and environmental controversies. The plan to maintain the site in a stable, non-operational state is expected to take between six and twelve months to fully implement, depending on the condition of existing infrastructure and machinery.
According to Roderick Gutiérrez, president of the Panamanian Mining Chamber, First Quantum will attempt to finance the monthly maintenance costs through…
