First Quantum Plunges Up to 31% as Panama Mine Faces Referendum
- Shares of Canadian miner see biggest intraday drop in 26 years
- Panama’s president has called for Dec. 17 referendum on mine
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First Quantum Minerals Ltd. shares plunged the most in 26 years after Panama’s government said it would hold a referendum on the company’s flagship copper mine in an effort to quell mass civil unrest.
Shares of the Canadian miner, which owns and operates the Cobre Panama mine in the Central American nation, fell almost 31% in Toronto trading for the biggest intraday decline since July 1997. Franco-Nevada Corp., which owns a royalty on the copper produced from the mine, dropped as much as 10%.