LatinNews Daily - 04 December 2023

*Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals (FQM) has confirmed the start of arbitration proceedings against Panama following the recent supreme court (CSJ) ruling which deemed unconstitutional a new law authorising a contract between FQM’s Panamanian subsidiary, Minera Panamá S.A. (MPSA) and the government led by President Laurentino Cortizo regarding the country’s biggest mine, Cobre Panamá. This led President Cortizo to confirm that the mine would be closed. In a press statement FQM said that it had initiated arbitration before the International Court of Arbitration (ICC) to protect its rights under the 2023 concession agreement that the Panamanian government agreed to earlier this year. In the same statement, FQM, which noted that it had invested US$10bn in the mine and associated infrastructure, including a power plant, cross-country transmission lines, roads and a port, also said that the company is suspending production guidance for Cobre Panamá for the current year.