Shares of Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals closed 5% higher on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday after Panama announced it would conduct an environmental audit of the company’s Cobre Panama mine to decide whether it can safely reopen.
Panama’s government had ordered the closure of the Cobre Panama mine, one of the newest and biggest copper mines in the world, in December 2022 after protests calling for more environmental protections and a court ruling that deemed the contract to run the mine unconstitutional.
In his first address as the new head of the government, President Jose Raul Mulino said he will order a “strict environmental audit of the mine, with the best international experts, so that the country knows the truth about the state of the site.” He added that Panama will choose an auditing company and that this will not generate any costs for the government.
Mulino stated that the plan to open and definitively close the mine in a safe and positive manner for the country will depend on the results of the environmental study. Trade and Industry Minister Julio Molto told Reuters that the government will “review and analyze all the information available to make an informed and responsible decision.”
First Quantum did not want to comment on the President’s speech. Last week, Reuters reported that the company was planning to launch a formal arbitration proceeding against Panama this month.
The news of the environmental audit has boosted investor confidence in First Quantum Minerals, leading to a 5% jump in the company’s share price on the Toronto Stock Exchange.