First Quantum Minerals 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 closed in December 2023, the mine generated 5% of the country’s gross domestic product 1.5% of the world’s copper.
“In order to get an operational license we need to have a social license,” Galvez said Monday.
The Vancouver-based firm’s shares are trading at around half the levels seen during its 2023 peak as investors await news on a mine that accounted for about 40% of sales. First Quantum has cut thousands of jobs since the closure and warned of more layoffs if it doesn’t reopen.
Panama is also hurting, with growth slowing and finances deteriorating. Another credit downgrade could cost the nation its investment-grade status, which would force some funds to sell the nation’s debt.
First Quantum’s Panama troubles stem back to its efforts to extend its operating contract for the massive mine. The company had negotiated a 40-year extension under the previous government, which included a minimum annual payment of $375-million. The government of then-President Laurentino Cortizo ratified the deal in October 2023, triggering protests that paralyzed the economy. The Supreme Court deemed the agreement unconstitutional and, ahead of looming elections, Cortizo made a U-turn on his position and initiated plans to shutter the mine.
First Quantum has been pursuing a multipronged approach to revive its operation ever since. The company sought arbitration through the International Chamber of Commerce in Miami, and has pursued a challenge under a free trade agreement between Panama and Canada. Meanwhile, it’s been trying to win over Panamanians through a public relations push that included offering daylong public visits to the mine and, this week, extending the outreach to international media.
Other polls also indicate public sentiment on the mine may be shifting. A survey of 1 600 Panamanians by local firm Doxa in December found that 44% of respondents favored permanently closing the mine. That compared to January 2024 when a separate poll by Mercadeo Planificado found that 81% of respondents favored closure.
President Mulino, who took office last July and is viewed as more business friendly than his predecessor, said he’ll address the mine after the government approves reforms on social security. Lawmakers are expected to vote on the reform in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, Mulino met with local suppliers of the mine amid concerns of staff reductions and business closures. His office put out a statement Monday tying the industry pain to the mine closure.
Authorities are doing an audit of Cobre Panama, which seeks to evaluate the environmental risks and pose mitigation measures and determine costs for permanently closing the mine, according to the government.
First Quantum has agreed to fully cooperate with the audit, and the company has provided the government with a preservation and safe management program. Its approval would allow the export of about 121 000 metric tons of stockpiled copper concentrate. 