Cobre mine, Panama

Cobre Panamá
Location
Colón Province
CountryPanama
Coordinates8°51'07.1"N 80°38'41.2"W
Production
ProductsCopper, Gold, Silver
History
Opened2019
Owner
CompanyFirst Quantum Minerals[1]
Websitewww.cobrepanama.com
Year of acquisition2013

Cobre Panamá is an open-pit copper mine in Panama, located 120 km (75 mi) west of Panama City and 20 km (12 mi) from the Caribbean Sea coast, in the district of Donoso, province of Colón. The mine consists of four zones totalling 13,600 ha (34,000 acres). The main deposits are at  Botija, Colina and Valle Grande. With 3.1 billion t (6.8 trillion lb) of proven and probable reserves, Cobre Panamá is one of the largest new copper mines opened globally since 2010. It is located next to the Petaquilla mine.[2] For 2024, Cobre Panamá is made up of a copper mine, processing plant, power plant and the international port of Punta Rincón.[3][4]

Commercial production started in September 2019.[5] At full current capacity, the plant will process 85 Mtpa of ore to produce more than 300,000 t (660 million lb) of copper per year along with gold, silver and molybdenum. This is equivalent to 1.5% of global copper production as of 2023.[6] The operation has a 34-year mine life. The three 28 megawatt SAG mills and four 16.5 megawatt ball mills installed at Cobre Panamá are the largest installed in the world up to the year 2020, except for the Sentinel mine in Zambia, also owned by First Quantum Minerals. The project is powered by a 300 MW coal fired power generation plant located at the port built for this mining operation.

  1. ^ "Our Operations: Cobre Panama.". First Quantum Minerals Ltd. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  2. ^ Petaquilla claims court victory over Inmet in Panama. The Globe and Mail, 2013-02-13. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  3. ^ "BNamericas - Cobre Panamá opens the doors of the mine to ..." BNamericas.com. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
  4. ^ "Canada's First Quantum further slows operations at Panama mine". Reuters. 2023-11-20.
  5. ^ "GALERÍA DE PRIMERA EXPORTACIÓN DE CONCENTRADO DE COBRE.". Minera Panamá S.A. 2019. Archived from the original on 2021-01-24. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  6. ^ Jamasmie, Cecilia (2023-02-23). "First Quantum halts copper processing in Panama as dispute spirals". Mining.com. Archived from the original on 2023-03-13.