The first ship laden with copper ore from Cobre Panama passes through the Panama
Canal with the words ‘Copper
is the Future’ emblazoned on it.
The first copper concentrate from First
Quantum’s Cobre Panama project was
loaded on to a ship at the Port of Punta
Rincon in mid-June. The 31,200 tons of
copper concentrate marks the beginning
of copper exports from Panamanian lands,
the company said. This is the second milestone
for this project. The first was the
start of milling, which began February 18.
To date, the Cobre Panama project has
attracted $6.3 billion of foreign direct investment
to Panama. The company said
it believes this investment was made because
international financial institutions
were satisfied with Panama’s reputation
as a reliable and stable destination.
General Manager Tristan Pascall said
he believes copper is the future and Panama
will contribute to world sustainability
of the material.
At the beginning of the operation, Cobre
Panama will employ approximately
4,200 employees. The project is expected
to produce between 140,000 tons and
175,000 tons of copper this year. It will
ramp up to between 270,000 tons and
300,000 tons next year.
As featured in Womp 2019 Vol 07 - www.womp-int.com