Minera Panama filed a protection action, because since April 6 the Ministry of Health ordered the closure of the Donoso mining project, for reporting an outbreak of covid-19 among the company's staff.
The Ministry of Health (Minsal) suspended the activities of the mining project located in the province of Colon, after several workers became infected with covid-19 and two of them died from the virus.
In Panama, activities related to mining are expected to increase by more than 10% in 2019, a growth that would be mainly due to copper extraction.
According to the Panamanian government, it is estimated that the economic activity of mining and quarrying will increase over 10% in 2019, as copper exports would exceed $2 billion per year.
Nowadays, the mining sector represents around 1.6% of the GDP, however, with the greater dynamism of the activity this proportion could increase up to 6% or 7%, in a maximum period of two years.
The protests which since the beginning of the year have been held by workers in the Cobre Panama project in Colón have paralyzed work on the power line and the 300 MW thermoelectric plant.
The labor dispute that has prevented the project from progressing arose after both parties, the workers' union and the company Minera Panamá, accused each other of not complying with some points of the agreement made between them in January, with intermediation on the part of the Ministry of Labor.
The Varela administration has extended the concession authorizing Minera Panama to extract copper from the mine at Donoso, in the province of Colón for a further 20 years.
The concession granted by the Ministry of Commerce and Industries is for an area of almost 13 thousand hectares, and will be in force until February 28, 2037.
The company has said it is not ruling out expanding the capacity of power generation at the coal-based plant from 300 MW to 600 MW.
The announcement was made by the country manager of the company, Todd Clewett, who confirmed to Capital.com.pa that the land where the plant is located has enough to size double the floor space if required.
The plant, which is part of the Cobre Panama project, uses coal as a fuel source, and the company expects to start operation in 2017 to produce for all of the national electricity system.
The terminal built by the concessionaire Minera Panama, in Punta Rincon, will initially be used for unloading construction materials for the Cobre Panama project.
The port required an investment of $54 million and was built entirely by Minera Panama, concessionaire of the Cobre Panama project , in the district of Donoso, Colon Province.
Once the work has been completed, George Carney, manager of Minera Panama along with the national government, explained that "... it will be used to transport the copper material extracted and the fuel required during the more than three decades of operation of this mine in the country. "
The company Minera Panama has made an agreement to resume construction work at the mine after reaching an agreement with workers over working schedules.
After construction stopped in the Cobre Panama mine project on June 27, due to a labor dispute with workers of the project, the company First Quantum Minerals has said it has reached an agreement to resume work.
First Quantum has announced that the copper mine will produce 20% more than originally estimated, but the start of operations will be delayed until 2017.
The delay in the start of operations of the Cobre Panama mine, purchased by the Canadian company First Quantum last year, will mean higher costs.
"The mining company said it signed a bank loan of $2.5 billion over a five-year term to cover part of its capitalization.
The new owner of the Cobre Panama project has canceled contracts and reduced its workforce, affecting the economy of the Cocle zone.
The restructuring undertaken by First Quantum in the Cobre Panama project after having bought it from Inmer Mining has affected commercial activity in Cocle. The slowdown in project development, reduction in the payroll of workers and termination of some contracts with local companies have caused many businesses in the area to see falling sales.
The approval of a draft contract-law in favor of Vera Gold Corp. would ensure an investment of more than $50 million in the former Santa Rosa mine.
This contract-law must first be approved by the Panamanian Congress. The lawyers explained that the aim of this type of concession by law is to protect the company.
"It shields the company against a change of government.
Hotels, car rental agencies, and businesses in general have been affected by the disruption of mining operations in the province of Cocle, Panama, since last April.
Three months after the cessation of operations at the gold and copper mines especially in the city of Penonomé and Graffiti, activities related to these projects have dropped considerably.
Following the acquisition of Inmet Mining, the former owner of the mega mining project in Panama, First Quantum has suspended construction contracts with SNC-Lavalin, for $120 million.
A statement by SNC-Lavalin notes that, "First Quantum Minerals, which recently acquired a majority stake in Inmet Mining Corporation (Inmet), and took control of the Cobre Panama project, typically directs and executes its projects based on direct internal recruitment procedures, looking for external experience only when necessary. "
With an offer of $5.1 billion, the Canadian mining company has finally gained control of the Cobre Panama mining project.
As indicated by The Globe and Mail, holders of more than 61% of the shares of Inmet Mining accepted the hostile bid from First Quantum, for more than $5 billion in cash and shares.In theory, the purchase could fall if another friendly bidder appeared, but this is seems very unlikely, says the newspaper.
The two large mining projects in Panama have agreed on terms of cooperation, trade relations and dispute resolution.
From a statement by Inmet Mining Corporation:
Inmet Mining Corporation (TSX: IMN) and its subsidiary, Minera Panama SA ("MPSA") and Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. ((TSX: PTQ) with some of its subsidiaries (collectively, "Petaquilla") are pleased to announce the signing of a term sheet which establishes a binding agreement between the companies related to the purchase of aggregates, access and use of land, settlement of certain claims, remission of royalties to be received by IMN, and leasing of a camp site for the benefit of mining operations of Petaquilla and MPSA in the district of Donoso, Panama.
The office of the National Immigration Service at Penonomé, Cocle, will address the requirements of the inhabitants of the area, giving priority to employees of the mining company.
From resolution number 18972 by the National Immigration Service:
Resolved
FIRST: Created within the organizational structure of the National Immigration Service, a Special Office, located in the District of Penonomé, Cocle Province.
español
6004
