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View of Canadian First Quantum Minerals’ Cobre Panama mine in Donoso, Panama, December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Aris Martínez/File Photo Purchase license rights
TORONTO, Oct 30 (Reuters) – Shares of Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) fell as much as 24.1% on Monday after the Panamanian government said it would hold a referendum on whether a The mining contract awarded to the company is set to be abandoned earlier this month.
Following protests by thousands of people opposed to the First Quantum open-pit mine in Cobre Panama, President Laurentino Cortizo said on Sunday the government would hold a referendum on December 17 and the decision would be binding.
The Panamanian government and the miner had agreed to a deal that would guarantee the Central American country an annual income of $375 million and allow First Quantum’s local unit to run the Cobre Panama project, an open-pit copper mine, at least to operate for 20 years.
First Quantum could not immediately be reached for comment. Cobre Panama represents nearly 5% of Panama’s gross domestic product and 1.5% of global copper production, according to RBC Capital Markets estimates.
In late morning trading, the shares fell 23.5% to C$21.35, while the benchmark Canadian stock index rose 0.4%.
Reporting by Divya Rajagopal. Editing by Tomasz Janowski
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