Panama orders halt to new mining projects as street protests grow By Reuters

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<span>© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: View of the Cobre Panama mine, of Canadian First Quantum Minerals, in Donoso, Panama, December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Aris Martínez/File Photo</span><br />
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<p>By Valentine Hilaire</p>
<p>(Reuters) -Panama will reject all new mining projects, the president said on Friday, as his government defends a controversial contract extending operations for two decades at a major mine that has sparked growing protests demanding its cancellation.</p>
<p>President Laurentino Cortizo announced that the new mining restrictions will apply to both future mining projects as well as those currently seeking permits.</p>
<p>“All of them will be rejected,” he wrote in a post on X. “This ban will go into effect from today.”</p>
<p>The abrupt mining pause comes barely a week after Cortizo hailed the revised contract that allows the local unit of Canada’s First Quantum (NASDAQ:) to continue operating its lucrative Cobre Panama project.</p>
<p>The extended First Quantum concession for the sprawling open-pit mine guarantees state coffers at least $375 million annually while allowing it to operate for at least 20 more years, with the possibility of further extensions.</p>
<p>Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets to criticize the deal, as well as the mine’s environmental costs, and demand its withdrawal.</p>
<p>Earlier on Friday, Economy Minister Hector Alexander echoed Cortizo’s support for the contract.</p>
<p>“Panama is a mining country,” Alexander told Reuters, arguing that without the mine, the country’s economy would barely grow this year, versus the robust 6% growth the government estimates. </p>
<p>The Cobre Panama mine alone accounts for nearly 5% of Panama’s economy.</p>
<p>Also on Friday, Panama’s top court agreed to consider a second lawsuit challenging the contract.</p>
<p>In recent days, protesters have erected road blockades to pressure authorities, which also led to the suspension of classes nationwide earlier this week.</p>
<p>In an interview, Edison Broce, a lawmaker who opposes the contract, predicted that politicians who support it will be punished in elections next year.</p>
<p>He urged Cortizo and his government to heed the protesters.</p>
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