Minera Panamá to continue voluntary retirement program

Minera Panamá, a subsidiary of Canadian First Quantum, announced that it will continue with the voluntary retirement plan after the closure of the mine in the province of Colón.

This is the second phase of the program to reduce the last year. In the first stage, 2,900 workers took advantage of the voluntary retirement plan, and now the company is calling for another 1,500 to end its relationship with the company.

Minera Panamá assures that under the scheme, workers are receiving 100% of their labor benefits.

 Initially, the company had requested the Ministry of Labor (Mitradel) to suspend contracts, but the entity denied the request, arguing that the concession to continue operating had been canceled after the ruling of the Supreme Court determined that the mining contract violated 25 articles of the Constitution.

“The special voluntary retirement program will include the payment of all amounts established by labor legislation, which are: accumulated vacations, accumulated thirteenth month, seniority premium, and 100% of the corresponding compensation, as dictated by the Labor Code,” said  Minera Panamá.

In projections for 2024, First Quantum indicated that, for the moment, 1,400 workers will remain at the mine to carry out maintenance and care work, although it warned that the number could fall below a thousand, depending on the tasks carried out in the closure plan. pointed out that the monthly cost in the maintenance and care stage could reach $20 million per month.

On  Tuesday, January 16, Minera Panamá must deliver to the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MICI) the draft plan that will be applied for the definitive closure of the mine, which last year produced 331,000 tons of copper, remaining below the 350,000 in 2022.

During the first technical inspection carried out by the commission designated to execute the closure plan, the Minister of the MICI, Jorge Rivera Staff, indicated that all processing activity at the mine was stopped. He also mentioned that the closure of the project could take up to 8 years.

In the coming weeks, the Government must hire companies that will carry out environmental and technical audits to determine the current status of the concession and the final closure mechanism.