The dog that didn't bark: a new mining contract without changes in the financial conditions

PANAMA - In Brief 11 Oct 2023 by Marco Fernandez

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The Cabinet approved a revision of the original contract between the Nation and Minera Panama yesterday, following a five-to-four vote against the initial version in the Commerce Committee of the National Assembly last month. Among the modifications included in the recent draft, the main topics that stand out are the elimination of the expropriation clauses and the restriction of mining activities to exploration, extraction, and exploitation of minerals only in the original concession areas. A contentious point regarding the prohibition of overflying the airspace above the mine has been removed. Additionally, the owners' right to request the State to restrict access to the identity of ultimate beneficiaries was eliminated, as well as other mining concessions for gold, silver, and molybdenum. As for the supervisory role of the State, the contract guarantees this authority and reaffirms Panama's "sovereignty" with respect to the contract. No changes were announced regarding payments and royalties to Panama. The next step is for the new contract to be submitted again to the Assembly and continue its regular process in three debates before being sanctioned by the President. The draft of the contract has not yet been shared with the public, and groups like the Alianza Nacional Pueblo Unido por la Vida (extreme left) have expressed their disagreement and plan to call for new protests. Other groups will surely join the voices of dissent. Three groups could be identified in the political balance sheet: (1) those in favor, including some private organizations; (2) those against mining in general (environmentalists); (3) those against the unconstitutional issues in the previous ...