STATEMENT

The Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MICI), which coordinates the Interinstitutional Commission for the Closure of the Panama Copper Mine, in reference to the Visitor and Citizen Participation Program, through which Minera Panamá S.A. (MPSA), organizes trips to the facilities of the Cobre Panamá project, for personnel unrelated to the project, informs the public that a written warning has been sent to said company in the following terms:

 

Que Minera Panama S.A. (MPSA) does not have a contract or any type of ownership after the ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice dated November 27, 2023 that declared unconstitutional law 406 of October 20, 2023 that approved the Mining Concession contract between the State and Minera Panamá, S.A., meant the lack of legal validity, total and absolute, of the relationship that existed between the concessionaire, Minera Panamá, S.A. and the Nation, in mining matters.

 

That the Panamanian State, through the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, last February called attention to the MPSA Executives for the implementation without consultation and prior authorization of a program of visits, who undertook to suspend them. ; However, these visits continue according to the reports obtained.

 

That it is the exclusive power of this Ministry to determine the coordination of said visits, considering that citizen oversight, as an element of representativeness, is different from the activity organized by MPSA.  This theft of powers could be interpreted as a deliberate attempt to pretend before the face of the country that the company retains any rights over the mining site.

 

That by mandate of Law this Ministry reiterates to Minera Panamá S.A. (MPSA), that said proposed visit program is not authorized and is not viable, since, in the absence of a mining concession contract, this activity must have the supervision and authorization of the National Government.

 

It is important to highlight that in the same way, in the event of any other proposed activity, measure or decision by MPSA, which is not explicitly contemplated in the Plan for Preservation and Safe Management (Care and Maintenance), it must have prior authorization and the proper coordination and supervision of the competent authorities, in order to avoid putting the safety of the project at risk