Reopening of Canadian owned mine will aid Panama economy

The Canadian company  First Quantum has  received to resume operations in the Cobre Panama mining project and expects  to reach full exploitation and export by  mid-August a boost for the economy

On  July 3  Minera Panamá, a subsidiary of First Quantum,  said that the project will open in three phases.

In the first block, it will have 2,000 workers while another 5,000 workers, including subcontractors, will wait for the second and third phases, with no restart dates set.

Francisco Díaz,  secretary-general secretary of the Union of Workers of Minera Panamá said that on July 15,  some 500 workers brought  the total  inside the mine to  To 1,300
60% of the production from the Donoso mine is exported to China. And the rest to Spain, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, India and Germany.

4,500 people are direct workers and another 2,500 are employees of subcontractors.

Díaz said  that currently there are 300 workers serving two weeks of preventive quarantine in hotels in Coclé. After 14 days, during which the workers receive payment for 8 hours a day, Minsa authorizes their entry into the project.

This week, health authorities and the Ministry of Labor inspected the project to confirm compliance with health protocols.

In June, Minsa announced that Cobre Panama was included in the sixth block of the economic opening plan established by the Government, following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Minera Panamá said that the reason why it was in block 6 and not in group 2, , was due to the probability that asymptomatic people would cause an outbreak of the virus in the  mining camps 

Of the $432 million of company earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, reported by First Quantum in the first quarter of this year, $157 million was contributed by the Donoso project.

“The operation is expected to increase to full production in mid-August, depending on the successful implementation of the reopening plan. No cases of Covid-19 have been detected at the Cobre Panama site since April 30, 2020, “First Quantum said in a statement.

Before Covid-19, the company’s subsidiary had estimated production of 75,000 tons per quarter, with an annual projection of 310,000 tons of copper concentrate.

Now, the company has reevaluated its calculations and projects a maximum production of 235,000 tons of copper concentrate and up to 100,000 ounces of gold by December 31,

According to the agreement between the union and Minera Panamá workers at the project will stay 4 weeks in the mine and then have two weeks of rest, in which they will receive the payment of 8 hours a day.

Once this term is fulfilled, the workers will go to the hotels to fulfill the 14-days quarantine and then enter the project.