The material has been left at the site of Cobre Panamá, a huge open pit copper mine closed since last December, when the country’s supreme court ruled that a new 20-year concession to operate the facility was unconstitutional.
After the ruling the government quickly forced the mine to shut, leaving just maintenance staff at the facility.
The order came after thousands of people took to the nation’s streets last October and November to protest against the mine, which they said was harming the environment.
The facility, one of the world’s largest copper mines, employed some 7,000 people, and accounted for 1% of the world’s copper production. It opened in 2019, and is owned by Canadian firm First Quantum Minerals.
Listen now – Panama’s troubled copper mine
Located deep in a tropical rainforest near Panama’s Caribbean Coast, First Quantum has invested $10bn (£7.8bn) in the mine, including new infrastructure like roads, buildings and machinery.
The company wants to be able to export the existing concentrate. It has filed two international arbitration claims against Panama, although it says that its preferred route is to open dialogue with the new Panamanian government that came to power in July.
The dispute over the concentrate centres on who owns it – the Canadian company or Panama.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the new government to address the situation in relation to the mine,” says First Quantum spokesperson Maru Gálvez, in a statement.
“In particular, it is important to resolve the status of the copper concentrate that remains at the mine site and which all parties have agreed is an urgent matter.”
In response, a government spokesman says they are still assessing the situation and aren’t giving interviews. The new president, José Raúl Mulino, has yet to give a clear message about how he wants to resolve the issue.
