LatinNews Daily - 29 July 2026

*Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals (FQM), the owner of Panama’s largest mine, Cobre Panamá, which was shuttered in late 2023 following major unrest over a new contract, has said it is “encouraged by… the release of the final audit report and the formation of the inter-institutional ministerial committee to review its findings.” An FQM report on its second quarter 2026 results says: “The final audit reported that the mine is broadly compliant, achieving an overall rating of 87.7%”. It added that “361 out of 370 commitments were fulfilled with only seven areas being in partial compliance with no areas fundamentally absent”. It also cites FQM’s CEO Tristan Pascall as saying that “at Cobre Panamá, site preparation for the processing of stockpiled ore advanced well during the quarter with the successful commissioning of one of the three processing circuits, allowing for first concentrate production to be achieved earlier than expected”. In April Panama’s government formally approved the removal, processing, and export of stockpiled ore at the mine that was extracted prior to the suspension of operations, resulting in the production of 3,216 tonnes (t) of copper concentrate. FQM estimates the total stockpile at approximately 38m t of mineralised ore “at varying grades, containing approximately 70,000 tonnes of recoverable copper, sufficient to support twelve months of processing at current rates”.  According to FQM, total site employment increased from approximately 2,350 employees in early April to 3,000 employees by the end of June. It states that “copper production from the processing of stockpiled ore at Cobre Panamá remains unchanged at 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes in 2026”. On 22 July Reuters reported that “Panama is considering creating a state-owned mining firm to partner” with FQM to reopen the mine, citing two people familiar with the development. The same report cites an unnamed former government adviser as saying that “it is clear that the government wants to open the mine with First Quantum… But it still ​fears social unrest”.

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