Cobre Panamá Mine: Mulino Receives Ministers’ Findings Before Any Decision
The Cobre Panamá mine report from three ministers reaches President Mulino on 30 September 2026, but the decision on First Quantum's mine is still pending. The post Cobre Panamá Mine: Mulino Receives Ministers’ Findings Before Any Decision appeared first on The Rio Times .
Panama's President José Raúl Mulino is set to receive the conclusions of a commission on the former Cobre Panamá mine on September 30, 2026. The commission, led by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, comprises three ministers: Julio Moltó (Commerce), Felipe Chapman (Economy and Finance), and Juan Carlos Navarro (Environment).
The commission, formed on June 4, 2026, is tasked with analyzing the mine's status rather than making a decision. The mine, located in Colón province on Panama's Caribbean side, has been shut down since November 2023 following a Supreme Court ruling declaring the mining contract unconstitutional. Despite the closure, First Quantum Minerals, the mine's owner, has processed ore from the pre-shutdown stockpile, extracting 3,216 tonnes of copper in the second quarter of 2026.
The government expects 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes this year. The commission's audit, conducted by SGS, gave the mine an overall compliance score of 87.73 out of 100, with technical and operational standards scoring highest. However, environmental compliance was rated 87.64 out of 100, with concerns over reforestation and species reintroduction programmes.
The commission also received a business federation's study, which found that the closure had caused significant job losses and economic losses. The government has set the end of 2026 as its deadline for a decision, which will be announced by Mulino himself.
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