Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino gestures during a press conference in Panama City, Panama, March 13, 2025.
Mulino also ordered the restart of a power plant needed to operate the Punta Rincon port, located about 17 miles (27 km) north of the mine, that will be used to help export production from the mine.
Panama's government, under Mulino's predecessor, ordered First Quantum to shut down the open-pit Cobre Panama mine in late 2023 following protests about alleged environmental concerns. The move led to questions about maintenance of the massive site and 120,000 metric tons of stockpiled copper concentrate.
Before its shutdown, the mine was one of the world's top sources of copper, accounting for 1% of global output.
Mulino told a weekly press conference he had authorized removing stranded copper products from the mine, arguing it was being wasted and that Panama would need to be reimbursed once the products are processed outside of the country.
The president said he would review the future of the mine more broadly as soon as next week.
"The issue of the mine will be approached with great responsibility and taking into account at all times the national interest," Mulino said. "We'll start as of next week."
In a statement issued after Mulino spoke, First Quantum expressed satisfaction with the president's decision to restart the power plant as well as his comments about exports.
"We welcome the statements made by the president... regarding the authorizations to export copper concentrate," First Quantum said in the statement.
