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☆ Exclusive: Panama may slash GDP growth view due to suspension of First Quantum mine
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Elida Moreno | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

View of the Cobre Panama mine, of Canadian First Quantum Minerals, in Donoso, Panama, December 6, 2022. Some experts calculate Panama would have to pay at least $50 billion if it loses the case, equivalent to nearly 70% of GDP. Ahead of the supreme court ruling, S&P revised Panama's outlook to negative from stable on potential risks to investor confidence and economic growth if the contract was found invalid. For First Quantum, the developments in Panama could be a repeat of its experience in the Democratic Republic Of Congo. The miner exited the African nation in 2012 after its mining contract was cancelled.

Persons: Hernan Arboleda, Laurentino Cortizo, Panamanians, Arboleda, Elida Moreno, Valentine Hilaire, Anthony Esposito, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Minerals, REUTERS, Aris Mart, PANAMA CITY, Reuters, Gross, Panama, JPMorgan, Democratic, Thomson Locations: Panama, Donoso, PANAMA, Democratic Republic Of Congo

Cobre Panama has said it is committed to growing more new forest than is impacted by its mine. "We aren't going anywhere," Sabino Ayarza, a representative of the protesting fishermen, told Reuters on Tuesday from his boat. Their grassroots movement, nearly unheard of in business-friendly Panama, has wiped C$11 billion ($7.4 billion) off First Quantum's market value and raised global copper prices on supply worries. The protesters' victory in Panama is emblematic of the outsized and sometimes unexpected influence local communities are having on mining companies worldwide. Cobre Panama accounted for about 46% of First Quantum's overall revenue in the third quarter, according to company data.

Persons: Aris Martinez, Sabino Ayarza, Ayarza, Codelco, Valentine Hilaire, Divya Rajagopal, Fabian Cambero, Christian Plumb, Denny Thomas, Nick Zieminski Organizations: REUTERS, Aris, PANAMA CITY, Minerals, Reuters, Panamanian, Tuesday, Scotiabank, Protesters, First, Thomson Locations: Panama City, Panama, PANAMA, TORONTO, Portugal, Peru, Chile, Macquarie, Mexico City, Toronto, Santiago

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panama’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that a 20-year concession for a Canadian copper mine that has been the focus of widespread environmental protests was unconstitutional. In March, Panama’s legislature reached an agreement with First Quantum allowing Minera Panama to continue operating the huge copper mine for at least 20 more years. The dispute over the mine led to some of Panama's most widespread protests in recent years, including a blockade of the mine’s power plant. A court decision that declared the contract unconstitutional was the last opportunity for opponents to get it thrown out. The Canadian government said it respected Tuesday's ruling and was following the contract negotiation closely.

Persons: —, Raisa Banfield, “, ”, Jean, Pierre J, ” ___ Rob Gillies Organizations: PANAMA CITY, Minerals, Pan, Naval, Panamanians, National Assembly, government’s Global Affairs Department Locations: PANAMA, Panama, Panama’s, Costa Rica, Minera Panama, Colon province, Toronto, America, Caribbean

☆ Two demonstrators killed amid anti-mining protests in Panama
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Patrick Oppmann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Anti-mining protests that have roiled Panama for the last two weeks turned deadly on Tuesday when a man allegedly shot and killed two demonstrators, according to police. For weeks, tens of thousands of protestors have vented their fury at a controversial mining contract given to Minera Panama, the local subsidiary of a Canadian mining company, to extract copper, a key component in electric car batteries. Teachers march to protest the deaths of two people during a demonstration against the government's contract with Canadian mining company First Quantum and its subsidiary Minera Panama in Panama City on November 8, 2023. Roberto Cisneros/AFP/Getty ImagesA march against the government contract with Canadian mining company First Quantum and its subsidiary Minera Panama in Panama City on November 3, 2023. In 2017, Panama’s Supreme Court declared another contract to operate the copper mine as unconstitutional, forcing the mining company and government to renegotiate the deal.

Persons: Manuel Noriega, Roberto Cisneros, Panamanians, Martita Cornejo, Panama John Feeley, ”, Weeks, Laurentino Cortizo, “, ” Cortizo Organizations: CNN, Twitter, Pan, Panama’s National Police, Central, Minerals, Minera, AFP, Getty, ”, Panama’s Locations: Panama, Central American, Canadian, Minera Panama, Panama City, Panamanian, Colombia, Panamanian State

View of the Cobre Panama mine, of Canadian First Quantum Minerals, in Donoso, Panama, December 6, 2022. First Quantum on Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to the rule of law with the objective of benefiting Panama. First Quantum and its local unit Minera Panama declined to comment further. A decision to cancel the Cobre Panama mine's contract could slow Panama's GDP growth from an anticipated 6% in 2023 to just 1% without the mine in operation on an annualized basis. The odds of Panama losing its investment-grade rating would rise significantly if the contract is revoked, J.P Morgan warned on Tuesday.

Persons: Laurentino, J.P Morgan, Adriana Linares, Jackie Przybylowski, Michael Camacho, Frank De Lima, Juan Diego Vasquez, Edison Broce, Divya Rajagopal, Valentine Hilaire, Elida Moreno, Steve Scherer, Denny Thomas, Rod Nickel Organizations: Minerals, REUTERS, Aris, Quantum Minerals, Panama, Canada's Global Affairs, Reuters, Bank of Montreal, Finance, Economy, Independent, Thomson Locations: Panama, Donoso, Vancouver, Canada, Toronto

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Protesters blocked streets across Panama on Monday, demanding the government rescind a contract to continue copper mining in a biodiverse region. Across Panama City, peaceful protesters handed out fliers, but in some areas on the outskirts of the capital police met protesters with tear gas. The government used social media to highlight the “enormous contribution” the mine — Panama's largest private investment ever — makes to the country's economy. Minera Panama says the mine will employ thousands of Panamanians and that its shipments make 80% of the country's total exports. The new contract, initially slowed by labor disagreements, secures Panama at least $375 million a year from Minera Panama, over 10 times more than the previous deal.

Persons: Laurentino Cortizo, Fernando Abrego, ”, Saúl Méndez, Abrego Organizations: PANAMA CITY, —, Department of Education, University of Panama, Minera, Panama's Association of Teachers, Teachers Locations: PANAMA, Panama, Colon, Panama City, Panama's, Minera Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, ”

☆ 33 years ago, the US Army's elite Delta Force pulled off its first successful hostage rescue mission
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Early on December 20, 1989, Delta Force operators descended on a Panamanian prison holding a CIA operative. But it was also the first time that Delta Force successfully completed a large-scale hostage rescue. In the months prior to the mission, the Delta operators practiced the mission multiple times. Once inside the cell, the Delta operators gave Muse a helmet, body armor, and goggles for protection before heading back to the MH-6s. A few minutes later, armored personnel carriers, carrying Delta operators and medics from the main invasion force, rescued them.

☆ Panama seizes record number of drugs for second consecutive year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PANAMA CITY, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Panama seized a record for drugs in 2022, its Public Security ministry said on Saturday, as the country struggles with drugs being trafficked through its territory to the United States and Europe. So far this year, the Central American country has seized 126.5 tons of drug, mostly cocaine, setting a record for the second consecutive year. "Panama is a transit country for drugs, what we do is a containment operation," Minister of Public Security Juan Manuel Pino told reporters this week. Out of the total, 23 tons were found in containers on the Atlantic coast with destination to the United States and Europe. The drugs were seized in more than 471 operations against drug trafficking, which included the arrest of 619 people comprising 415 Panamanians and 204 from other countries.

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