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| Cobre Panamá |
First Quantum sells degraded copper stockpile to fund maintenance
Panama explores new national model while mine closure timeline stretches to 15 years
First Quantum Minerals is incurring $20 million monthly to maintain its idled Cobre Panamá copper mine.
The care and maintenance plan was recently approved by Panamanian authorities and includes extensive legal and environmental safeguards. Implementation will take six to twelve months, depending on on-site equipment conditions.
The company plans to cover these costs by selling 121,000 tonnes of copper concentrate stored at the mine.
However, local officials note that much of the material has degraded due to prolonged inactivity, making reprocessing potentially uneconomical. Oversight of the maintenance plan will involve ten government agencies, including Panama’s Ministry of the Environment.
Cobre Panamá was shut down by presidential decree in late 2023, hitting both the company and national economy hard.
The mine previously contributed 5% of Panama’s GDP and generated 40% of First Quantum’s annual revenue. Current President José Raúl Mulino now seeks to renegotiate the mine's operating model, aiming to prioritize national benefit and ownership.
A full closure of Cobre Panamá could take up to 15 years due to its size and economic role.
Before the shutdown, the $10-billion open-pit mine produced over 330,000 tonnes of copper annually and was nearing a 100-million-tonne yearly throughput milestone—placing it among the world’s top producers.
ScrapInsight Editorial Commentary:
Cobre Panamá’s uncertain status casts a long shadow on global copper supply chains, particularly for smelters and scrap dealers in Asia and the EU. The mine’s idling constrains refined copper flows, potentially lifting demand for high-grade copper scrap. Traders should monitor Panama’s political negotiations closely, as a partial restart or permanent nationalization would have long-term implications for copper recycling and pricing dynamics in 2025 and beyond.
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