“I will order a strict environmental audit of the mine, with the best international experts, so that the country knows the truth about the state of the site…,” President Mulino said in his speech on Monday. He added that Panama will choose an auditing company which will not generate any costs for the government.
“The plan to open and definitively close the mine in a safe and positive manner for our country will depend on the results of that environment study,” Mulino said.
First Quantum did not respond to an email query.
The Cobre Panama mine, one of the newest and biggest copper mines in the world, was ordered to be shut down by the Panama government last December after public protests. Last week, Reuters reported that First Quantum was planning to launch a formal arbitration proceeding against Panama this month.
(By Divya Rajagopal and Elida Moreno; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Chizu Nomiyama)
