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Panama eyes export of First Quantum’s stockpiled copper
Panama’s finance chief sees no good reason why First Quantum Minerals Ltd. shouldn’t export the large volume of copper stockpiled at its shuttered mine in the country.
Panama’s finance chief sees no good reason why First Quantum Minerals Ltd. shouldn’t export the large volume of copper stockpiled at its shuttered mine in the country.
The government is working with a third party on an environmental assessment to quantify the amount of copper concentrate stored at the mine and determine when it was extracted, Finance Minister Felipe Chapman said Friday.
“The copper cannot lie sitting there forever. It has to be taken out, and if you are going to take it out, you might as well export it,” Chapman said in an interview in Bloomberg’s New York headquarters. “We have to complete the due diligence before making a decision.”
Even Panama’s most radical environmentalists haven’t argued against exporting the copper that has already been mined, he added.
The mine has been sitting idle in the jungle for nearly a year after the Supreme Court ruled last year the company’s operating contract was unconstitutional. It’s closure hit economic growth and government revenue, led Fitch Ratings to cut the nation’s credit rating to junk.
The mine had accounted for about 1.5% of global copper production and about 4% of Panama’s gross domestic product. The firm has filed an arbitration suit against Panama.
Panama’s government is focused on approving a social security reform before this year ends, and will discuss the mine’s future next year, Chapman said. He said First Quantum must withdraw its arbitration suit before talks can begin between the firm and the administration of President Jose Raul Mulino, who took office in July.
“We are more than willing to sit down and talk with them as long as they drop their intentions of suing the government,” Chapman said. “That’s our pre-condition.”
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