LA Panamanian Unit of the Canadian First Quantum Minerals (FQM) has instructed its lawyers to meet with the Panama Government’s legal team for “Work in the suspension of the arbitrations” initiated after the closure of their mine in the country, The company said on Friday in an internal memorandum.
The previous Panamanian administration He ordered FQM to close the Open Sky Mine Copper Panama at the end of 2023 after environmental protests. In response, the company challenged the measure before the International Court of Arbitration, based in Miami, United States.
“We have turned instructions to our lawyers to meet with the government’s legal team to work in the suspension of arbitrations,” says the document.
A year ago, the company reported that I was looking for US $ 20,000 million Through international arbitration after the Panama Supreme Court ruled that the contract for the exploitation of the mine was unconstitutionalin the middle of generalized protests in the country against its operation.
So farthe president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, has ruled out holding conversations with FQM until he abandons the legal procedure, initiated at the end of 2023.
On Thursday, Mulino said he would authorize The export of the 120,000 tons of copper concentrate that remain in the mine, which made the company’s shares jump more than 8%.
In a statement released after the president’s statements, FQM was satisfied with his comments on the mine that, before being closed, was one of The world’s main copper sources and represented 1% of the world production of red metal.
