First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and its workers and suppliers in Panama are stepping up efforts to gain support for the reopening of a $10 billion copper mine more than a year after it was shut.
The company has switched from a low-profile approach to engaging with Panamanians, in the wake of protests that triggered the closure, to a far more visible one of mass mine visits and public events, Maru Galvez, public relations manager for the Cobre Panama mine, told reporters at a dinner in the capital Monday. The efforts are paying off, with 96% of respondents in a recent community survey saying the government should renegotiate the mine contract. “The needle has moved,” she said.
To be sure, while First Quantum has met with local officials and brought ministers to the mine, company executives are yet to sit down with President Jose Raul Mulino, whose main focus remains social security reform. Before it was…
