Canadian mining giant shares down 9%

 The shares of First Quantum owners of Minera Panama showed a loss of 9% on the week at the closing of the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE)Friday.

The company’s shares began the week with a value of $30.71, but on Wednesday the value began to fall ending the week at $27.90, its lowest price since December 12, 2022, two days before the deadline granted by the Panamanian Government for the mining company to sign a new contract under the terms agreed in January of last year.

On Thursday, February 2, the share price of the company fell after the first death of a worker in the project that the company has in Zambia was confirmed.

According to information from the TSE, 2,126 000 shares of First Quantum were exchanged, a movement below the daily average of 2.5 million.

Investors are awaiting the visit that the company’s board of directors is making this week to the Cobre Panama project, which currently continues to operate amid the dispute with the Government after the First Quantum holding company filed an appeal against the order issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industries to establish a period of maintenance and care in 13,600 hectares concession until a new contract is signed.

 NEGATIVE REVIEW 

Last week, Fitch Rating announced that it had placed First Quantum’s ratings on a negative review, given the risk that the maintenance and care plan represents for the company.

The Cobre Panamá project is responsible for 45% of the company’s copper production.

The mining company has remained silent about the executives’ agenda during their stay in the country. In its social networks Minera Panamá, a subsidiary of First Quantum, indicates that the company is ready to sign the new contract where a minimum payment of $375 million is established, as well as other taxes by eliminating tax exemptions established in the 1997 contract.

In response, the Ministry of Commerce and Industries also published a video where it ensures that the changes introduced by the company in its latest proposal do not comply with the agreements of January 2022, affecting the income that the State must receive from the exploitation of its natural resources.