"Letter to First Quantum Minerals re: Cobre Panama", 11 June 2025

...Dear Tristan Pascall and Robert Harding,

...According to information from the Ministry of the Environment, Minera Panamá has been sanctioned for environmental violations on ten occasions and has five ongoing sanctioning processes... 

Now, despite the Supreme Court ruling of unconstitutionality, there is speculation that FQM’s mining contract could be renewed or that it could enter into an agreement with the Panamanian government to restart operations...

With rumors circulating about a potential reopening, there have already been protests as civil society makes it clear that they still believe Panama is worth more without mining. At the end of April 2025, the president introduced the idea of a partnership between the Panamanian government and FQM to operate the mine. Members of the National Assembly, unions, community members, and civil society organizations have spoken out in rejection of this idea in part because it ignores calls for a definitive closure. President Mulino has also discussed the idea of “reopening to close” the mine, without a clear explanation of how this would work or why the mine must be reopened for the closure process. This lack of clarity from the government and FQM has only served to fuel unrest and discontent in the country, which is already facing a national strike over social security reforms and mining. 

It concerns us that FQM appears to be willing to resume operations, which would violate the law and court decisions...

In support of Panamanian civil society, we echo their demands and call on First Quantum Minerals to:

1. Work with the Panamanian Government and civil society to update the closure plan for the Cobre Panama mine. The plan must work towards a definitive closure of the mine that follows the strictest environmental and social guidelines for closure. Furthermore, FQM must be responsible for paying all of the closure and monitoring costs for the mine.
   
2. Definitively drop all international arbitration proceedings against Panama. These cases often have a chilling effect on a country’s ability to uphold or pass environmental regulations, and have been denounced by the UN. In the case of Cobre Panama, FQM’s contract has been found to be in violation of the Panamanian constitution, and the economic consequences of that are the company’s responsibility not that of the Panamanian government.
3. Respect the 2023 Supreme Court decision and the national laws of Panama, including the mining moratorium. The Panamanian government has decided that mining is not in its country’s best interests and has adopted protective measures to reflect that. FQM must respect these decisions and uphold the law. 
4. Implement and fund an environmental remediation plan as part of the mine closure process to ensure that the biodiverse region where the mine is located and nearby communities are not left with a degraded environment. 
5. Allow the environmental sanctioning process to move forward, and commit to only submitting an appeal if you have evidence that an environmental infraction did not occur.

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