Protesters take part in a symbolic shutdown of the Cobre Panama mine, owned by Canada's First Quantum, just over a month after the Panamanian supreme court declared unconstitutional the contract to operate the lucrative copper deposit near the Caribbean coast of the isthmus, in Donoso, Panama, January 9, 2024. REUTERS/Roberto Cisneros
COLON, Panama (Reuters) - About 500 people on Tuesday protested at First Quantum's copper mine in Panama to pressure the Canadian miner and authorities to follow through on plans to close the site, weeks after the Supreme Court declared its contract unconstitutional.
Even days before the Supreme Court's November ruling over the contract to operate the lucrative Cobre Panama mine, the site had already effectively been shuttered after protesters blocked access to the port that serves it.
The Canadian miner's local unit last week said it was "deeply concerned" after one union warned of plans to "invade" the Cobre Panama mine this week. But by noon on Tuesday the protest, which was peaceful, had dispersed.
Many protesters waved Panamanian flags while others held banners that read: "Panama is worth more without mining."
In the following weeks after the court's decision, First Quantum said it was seeking formal talks with the Panamanian government to proceed with the safe and orderly closure of the facility. The company still has equipment and workers at the site.
Protesters on the site on Tuesday said they had achieved the "symbolic closure" of the mine.
"The people spoke loud and clear: we want a Panama free of mining," said 51-year-old teacher Fernando Abrego at the entrance to the mine, which remained closed and guarded by private agents.
"The fight didn't end with the ruling of unconstitutionality," he added.
Protesters have argued that the terms of the contract - originally agreed in October before being overruled - were too generous for First Quantum and allege corruption played a part in its approval. The company denies these claims.
The closure of the mine led Panama to drastically cut its economic growth forecasts for 2024. The Cobre Panama mine represented around 5% of Panamanian GDP.
"We are here because we want to know the plan that the government has for the end of the mine, a lot of time has passed and we do not see clarity in what they are going to do," said teacher leader Juan de Dios Camano.
(Reporting by Elida Moreno,; Editing by Diego Ore, Isabel Woodford and Marguerita Choy)
