The Cobre Panama Copper Mine in Donoso May Soon See Some Activity

DONOSO, Panama:  Between emerald seas and the hills of jungle, the Cobre Panama copper mine has been responsible for the fueling of mass protests across Panama.  Buried in the rolling hills and dense jungles of Panama’s eastern Caribbean Donoso region, the mine is marked by heavy machinery and rubble slicing into the earth, clashing with the vivid blues and green of the vast nature enveloping it.  More than a year ago, it became the heart of protests rippling across Panama.  The country-wide protests blocked off roads and fueled shortages in much of the country, prompting Panama’s Supreme Court to halt operations. 

Copper ore in stockpile at the Cobre Panama copper mine during a press tour of the mine, owned by Canada’s First Quantum Minerals, in Donoso, Panama, March 21, 2025.

Now, the new administration is signaling that the mine may come back to life at least until the copper that has been mined finds a home while the price is so high.  Mulino has already ordered that the mine’s power plant be restarted and that some $250 million worth of copper concentrate sitting at the mine be sold. And on Thursday, he appeared to signal where he was leaning. Noting the mine’s economic impact — it accounted for nearly 5% of Panama gross domestic product the last year it operated — Mulino said: “On what basis can I say, as president of the republic, ’good-bye, to the mine, there won’t be a mine because five people who don’t pay a payroll don’t want a mine?’”

The road to Cobre Panamá now is peppered with signs calling for its reopening. At its peak, it had employed more than 7,000 people, of which only about 1,000 remain as the company tries to keep the surrounding jungle at bay and the equipment from rusting away.