Panama commission recommends reopening First Quantum mine in order to gradually close it

​Shares of Canada's First Quantum Minerals tumbled on Wednesday after a government-commissioned study in Panama ‌recommended negotiating a new arrangement that could allow a temporary restart of the Cobre Panama mine to facilitate its orderly closure. The study marks another development ‌in the long-running dispute over the mine, which was responsible for ‌1% of copper production worldwide until the government shuttered it in 2023 following protests from local residents over tax contributions and its environmental impact.

Effectively, the commission recommends "establishing the conditions ⁠for ​a restart that ⁠enables achieving an orderly closure at no cost to the nation." It also recommends ⁠resolving all arbitration claims filed by First Quantum against the government following the ​mine's closure.

Shares of First Quantum Minerals plummeted 31% on the Toronto Stock ⁠Exchange following the announcement. Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino said at a press conference on ⁠Wednesday ​that he would carefully analyze the contents of the study before making a firm decision on the future of one of ⁠the world's largest open-pit copper deposits.

Reuters reported earlier on Wednesday that the ⁠commission would propose ⁠a state partnership with Canada's First Quantum Minerals in order to restart the shuttered mine.