Panama’s Cobre Panamá Copper Mine Mills Stockpile, Not a Restart
Panama · MINING
Key Facts
- —Authorisation Resolution 101925 of 7 April 2026 permits processing of already-blasted rock only.
- —Stockpile About 38 million tonnes hold roughly 70,000 tonnes of recoverable copper.
- —Output The Cobre Panamá copper mine produced 3,216 tonnes of copper last quarter.
- —Earlier sale Stranded 2023 concentrate of 122,520 tonnes fetched about US$334 million in 2025.
- —Legal status Panama’s Supreme Court voided the concession law on 28 November 2023.
Milling already-blasted rock under a custody permit is not the same as reopening Panama’s largest mine.
Panama has allowed First Quantum Minerals to mill ore that was already dug before the 2023 shutdown. That permission is not a reopening of the Cobre Panamá copper mine.
What Panama actually authorised
Panama’s Ministry of Commerce and Industries issued Resolution 101925 on 7 April 2026. It appeared in Official Gazette 30498 and covers material already blasted before the shutdown.
The resolution lets Minera Panamá process, export and sell rock sitting on the surface. It states plainly that this does not reactivate mining activity.
New drilling, blasting and pit extraction stay prohibited under the same text. The Cobre Panamá copper mine therefore remains legally shut as a mining operation.
Roughly 38 million tonnes of mineralised rock sit in stockpiles from the pre-2023 period. First Quantum estimates about 70,000 tonnes of recoverable copper inside that pile.
The stated reason is environmental risk rather than commerce. Exposed sulphide rock can generate acid drainage if it is left to weather.
Hiring for the processing programme was announced in January 2026. The company said it would take 700 direct workers, prioritising Donoso and Colón.
Where the 33,000-tonne figure comes from
A separate export happened in 2025 and is often confused with the current programme. That cargo carried concentrate already produced and stranded when operations stopped in late 2023.
Panama’s ministry said in July 2025 that a shipment of more than 33,000 tonnes was complete. It was the first of several liftings from about 120,000 tonnes of stored material.
By the end of the third quarter of 2025 the whole stock had gone. First Quantum reported 122,520 tonnes sold for about US$334 million.
Panamanian officials put royalties from that sale at roughly US$29 million. Buyers included smelters in China, Japan, South Korea, India, Spain and Germany.
What is happening at the mine now
The Cobre Panamá copper mine started one of its three milling circuits in May 2026. That circuit turned stockpiled rock into fresh concentrate for the first time since 2023.
First Quantum processed about 2.1 million tonnes of ore in the second quarter of 2026. Head grade averaged 0.23% and recoveries ran near 67%.
Output reached 3,216 tonnes of copper in concentrate over that quarter. The company guides to between 30,000 and 40,000 tonnes from the stockpile during 2026.
At current rates the pile supports about twelve months of milling. A first cargo of this newly milled concentrate was targeted for August 2026.
First Quantum has said the programme needs about US$250 million of capital. That covers commissioning, inventory build and sustaining spending across the period.
The shipment claim that needs care
A tonnage of about 33,000 has circulated in connection with a late-August 2026 cargo. That figure matches the first 2025 lifting of stranded concentrate, not the new programme.
Neither the company nor the ministry has published a vessel name, sailing date or destination. Treat that specific tonnage as unconfirmed for August 2026.
What is documented is the authorisation, the milling and the quarterly production figures. Those carry the real story of the Cobre Panamá copper mine.
Concentrate leaves through Punta Rincón, the mine’s own port on the Caribbean coast. The site sits in Donoso district, Colón province, roughly 120 kilometres west of Panama City.
The complex also holds a 300-megawatt power station and its own deep-water berth. Both had to run again before any concentrate could move.
The legal position since November 2023
Panama’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously on 28 November 2023 that Law 406 was unconstitutional. That law, passed on 20 October 2023, had approved the concession contract.
Production had already stopped days earlier when protesters blockaded the port and access roads. The site then moved into a Preservation and Safe Management programme.
That programme keeps pumps, tailings dams and slopes stable and staff on site. It is a custody regime, not a licence to mine.
No new concession contract has replaced the annulled one. The Cobre Panamá copper mine has no legal basis for fresh extraction today.
Arbitration suspended, not all withdrawn
First Quantum said on 31 March 2025 that it would discontinue its International Chamber of Commerce case. That contract arbitration had been launched in November 2023.
It also suspended a treaty claim under the Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement. Suspension is not withdrawal, and the company says the panel remains constituted.
Chief executive Tristan Pascall has said arbitration is not the preferred outcome. The company wants a negotiated settlement that also works for Panama.
The suspended claim gives First Quantum leverage while talks continue. It can be revived if negotiations over the Cobre Panamá copper mine collapse.
What the mine meant to Panama
First Quantum puts the operation at 5% of Panama’s gross domestic product in 2023. It also employed about 2.3% of the country’s formal workforce.
Copper concentrate made up more than 75% of goods exports in 2022. Those shipments were worth about US$2.797 billion that year.
Panama uses the United States dollar, and the balboa circulates at par with it. That removes exchange-rate noise from every figure quoted here.
Direct employment stood near 7,000 before the shutdown. Headcount fell to roughly 1,100 during preservation and reached about 3,000 by June 2026.
Preservation has been costly for the operator as well. Accumulated spending on the programme reached about US$360 million by September 2025.
What a genuine restart would take
Reopening the Botija and Colina pits would need a new legal framework agreed with the state. It would also need roughly 6,000 workers, double the current payroll.
President José Raúl Mulino has said the government will settle the mine’s future during 2026. No contract, referendum or law has yet been put before the public.
Until that happens, the operation is milling old rock under a custody permit. Calling that a restart overstates what Panama has actually allowed.
Investors watching the copper price should note the scale involved. Full production ran near 1.5% of global copper supply in 2023.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Cobre Panamá copper mine reopening?
No. Panama authorised processing of ore already extracted before 2023. New drilling, blasting and pit extraction remain prohibited.
What was actually shipped in 2025?
Concentrate produced before the shutdown and stranded on site. Panama said 122,520 tonnes were sold for about US$334 million.
Is First Quantum’s arbitration against Panama over?
The International Chamber of Commerce case was discontinued in March 2025. A treaty claim under the Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement is suspended, not withdrawn.
Sources
- www.first-quantum.com
- www.globenewswire.com
- www.prensa.com
- www.prensa.com
- www.prensa.com
- www.infobae.com
- www.first-quantum.com
- www.organojudicial.gob.pa
- www.first-quantum.com
- elcapitalfinanciero.com
- www.mining.com
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