Commodities
Panama Formally Orders First Quantum to Shut Down Flagship Copper Mine
- Company seeks permission to lay off more than 4,000 workers
- Shares of Canadian metals producer sink to lowest since 2020
The giant Cobre Panama mine has been at the center of widespread protests that erupted over a decision to approve a new multidecade operating contract in October.
Photographer: Walter Hurtado/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Panama’s government formally ordered First Quantum Minerals Ltd. to end all operations at its $10-billion copper mine in the country, according to the Canadian company’s local unit.
Panama’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry ordered the metals producer to “end extraction, processing, refining, transportation, export and sales activities,” the company said in a Friday statement. The move follows a Supreme Court ruling that invalidated the law governing Cobre Panama’s operating license.