In Panama, it is being claimed that gold mining activity at the Cerro Quema mine will set back 18 months, due to a delay in approving the environmental study and the extension of a concession on the part of the government.
General managers of the company Minera Cerro Quema, in charge of the concession for the mine, stated that the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) was presented three years ago, and they have still not received approval from the authorities.
In 2012 gold exports to Canada amounted to $377 million, equivalent to 54% of the total exported by the region that year, but four years later the figure has fallen to 0.
Figures of the information system on the Gold Market in Crude, Semi Wrought or Powder form in Central America, compiled by CentralAmericaData's Business Intelligence Unit: [GRAFICA caption = "Click to interact with the graph"]
The proposal to exploit the gold mine in Cerro Quema, Los Santos, was considered "viable" by the Evaluation and Environmental Management Department in Panama.
The Evaluation and Environmental Management Department at the Ministry of Environment recommended that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study for the project be approved.Prensa.com reports that now they are "... just waiting for the signature of approval from the Environment Minister Mirei Endara."
As part of the restructuring process to reactivate the operation in the gold mine, Petaquilla Mineras has appointed Arenisca Properties S.A. to manage works at the mine.
The company Arenisca Properties S.A., responsible for reviving the mining operation, "... Is a shared partnership between Petaquilla Minerals and the investment fund Baseline Financial Group.
Petaquilla Gold has been granted 180 days to catch up with outstanding payments of royalties, fees to the Social Security Department and other payments.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Panama (ICIM):
The Ministry of Trade and Industry announced today, to representatives of Petaquilla Gold, the decision to administratively resolve the granting of the Molejón mining project, recognizing an initial term of 180 calendar days, during which the company can rectify its faults in contractual obligations.
The operator of Molejon gold mine in Panama has announced that it has obtained a line of credit of up to $25 million to restart operations from February 1st.
Baseline Financial Group is the company that will provide an initial payment of $10 million, with a progressive investment of up to $25 million, to revive the extraction of gold from the mine. The contract stipulates that 60% of the proceeds will go to Petaquilla Minerals, 40% to Baseline Financial Group and 10% will go to the administration of a trust.
Estimates are that there are $200 billion worth of metals in the Panamanian subsoil, with copper predominating.
Although the largest proportion of mining reserves is copper, the four gold deposits identified alone are valued at about $5 billion.
Anpanama.com reports that "... The Panamanian government has granted in concession most of these deposits and their exploitation is currently in different stages, yet none have passed the stage of mining, which is when the material is excavated. At the moment Minera Panama has under construction the Panama Cobre mine which involves an investment of $6 billion.The Cobre Panama mine will be in production in late 2017 or early 2018. Another major project in gold and silver is Petaquilla Gold, which is currently paralyzed due to financial problems. "
Workers at the Petaquilla Minerals Mine reported cessation of production and shareholders are demanding further explanation of the reduction of 98% of production in the first quarter of the year.
The decline in production at Molejón gold mine, in the district of Donoso, Colon, is concerning the shareholders of the Canadian company Petaquilla Minerals, who believe that some decisions made by the directors of the company have not been adequate and are proposing alternatives such as capitalizing the company, among other things.
Greenfield Resources has initiated efforts to request the reopening of the Remance mine, in which it plans to invest $110 million.
16 years since the closure of the mine, caused by the collapse of the gold price in the international market, the Panamanian company Greenfield Resources Inc. has asked the National Environmental Authority (ANAM) for approval of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) in order to reactivate their exploitation activities. The site in the province of Veraguas has projected a production life of 12 years and to exploit it the company plans to install a plant with initial capacity to process 5000 tons per day of the material, with projections to increase this to 7000 tonnes.
The mining company Cerro Quema has received the concession for mining gold and silver in the region of Cerro Quema.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry has granted the company Minera Cerro Quema exclusive rights to extract gold and silver in the region of Cerro Quema.
"The measure supports a document belonging to this entity dated January 15 this year, which is signed by the national director, in charge of Mineral Resources Themistocles Velarde.
With mineral reserves estimated at $200 billion, continued growth is projected for an industry that in 2013 produced $553 million.
Already identified are 50 billion pounds of copper, 12 million ounces of gold, 25,000 ounces of silver and 250 tons of molybdenum, which at current prices amount to $200 billion.
"Of this total, 53% must stay in the country in the form of taxes on income and dividends," said Zorel Morales, Executive Chairman of the Mining Chamber of Panama.
Just in June there have been three requests for mining exploration in the region of Cañazas in the center west province of Veraguas.
The Mineral Resources department of Panama's Ministry for Trade and Industry (MICI) received two exploration requests from Canamanian Resources Inc. and another from Constructora Minas Canteras y Ambiente. The three requests cover an area of 15,564 hectares.
On December 2009, the Commerce Ministry (Mici) received six new applications for exploring gold.
Mici had received an additional four between June and November 2009.
“Four companies filed these 10 requests for authorization: Competrol Panamá S.A., Royal Mineral Exploration Corp., Panamerican Mines Corp. y Santa Rosa Mining Corp. Combined, they intend to explore 81.222 hectares”, reported Prensa.com.
El Salvador and Costa Rica say NO. Panama and Nicaragua say YES. Guatemala and Honduras are expected to decide soon.
Gold and copper prices are on the rise, and investors are eager to put money in extraction projects all over Central America.
But the governments of Central America have different opinions over this industry. While these projects are welcomed and authorized In Panama and Nicaragua, informal and formal moratoriums to the activity are being decreed in Costa Rica and El Salvador, stopping mining concessions under pressure from environmentalist groups. Meanwhile, in Guatemala and Honduras new projects are awaiting rules and regulations that will likely toughen environmental regulations for the mining industry.