The following letter was sent to First Quantum Minerals' Chief Executive Officer and Chairman by 101 International civil society organizations and coalitions, including MiningWatch Canada.
Tristan Pascall, Chief Executive Officer, and Robert Harding, Chairman
First Quantum Minerals Ltd.
1133 Melville Street, Suite 3500,
The Stack, Vancouver, British Columbia,
V6E 4E5, Canada
CC: Ambassador of Canada in Panama, Patricia Atkinson The Honourable Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade
Dear Tristan Pascall and Robert Harding,
In 2018, the Panamanian Supreme Court of Justice found that the original concession contract for First Quantum Minerals' Cobre Panama mine violated five articles of the Panamanian Constitution and was therefore null and void. The primary cause of the violations was the lack of a required bidding process for the concession. In 2021, the Court dismissed a series of briefs filed by the company and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry against this unappealable decision, stating that these were dilatory actions and contrary to the Panamanian Constitution.
The Mineral Resources Code of Panama establishes that mining operations can only be carried out pursuant to a mining concession. However, the Cobre Panama project continued to operate until the end of 2023 without a contract. Meanwhile, First Quantum Minerals (FQM) and the Panamanian government negotiated a new contract, again without a bidding process, that awarded the mining concession to its subsidiary, Minera Panama, in open contempt of the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice.
In 2023, Panamanians took to the streets for 39 days of historic protest against the illegalities surrounding FQM’s contract and operations, and the renewal of the Cobre Panama contract. In response to this public pressure, the Panamanian government declared a moratorium on new mining concessions, applications under review, and for concessions that had expired by November 3, 2023. At the end of that month, on November 28, Panama's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that FQM’s new mining contract was unconstitutional, having violated 25 articles of the Constitution. This resulted in its cancellation and the suspension of your operations in Panama.
The Supreme Court's ruling warns, among other things, “that the social, economic and environmental impacts of an open-pit mine, such as the one under concession, will directly affect a segment of the population. In this case, rural populations, informal settlements and peasants, whose risk of environmental damage is high as a result of this activity.”
According to information from the Ministry of the Environment, Minera Panamá has been sanctioned for environmental violations on ten occasions and has five ongoing sanctioning processes. In one of the pending processes for infractions detected across three inspections in 2019, the company filed twelve different legal appeals against the opening of the sanction process, which could be seen as an attempt to delay the process.
In November 2023, FQM submitted a notice to Panama of its intent to initiate international arbitration. The company was seeking at least US $20 billion under the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms included in the Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement. Many of your partners also began notifying Panama of their own intent to file lawsuits through the ISDS and International Commercial Court systems. Despite a lack of public support for the mine, concerns about the environmental impacts of the mine, problems with the contract for a second time, and a moratorium that prevented the company from attaining a new contract, FQM still chose to seek billions from the Panamanian State.
Now, despite the Supreme Court ruling of unconstitutionality, there is speculation that FQM’s mining contract could be renewed or that it could enter into an agreement with the Panamanian government to restart operations. Panama’s new president, José Raúl Mulino, stated that the Canadian company must drop the arbitration against Panama as a condition of negotiating the reopening of the mine. Just last month, FQM advised its lawyers to suspend the arbitration against Panama in order "to discuss the reopening of the mine."
With rumors circulating about a potential reopening, there have already been protests as civil society makes it clear that they still believe Panama is worth more without mining. At the end of April 2025, the president introduced the idea of a partnership between the Panamanian government and FQM to operate the mine. Members of the National Assembly, unions, community members, and civil society organizations have spoken out in rejection of this idea in part because it ignores calls for a definitive closure. President Mulino has also discussed the idea of “reopening to close” the mine, without a clear explanation of how this would work or why the mine must be reopened for the closure process. This lack of clarity from the government and FQM has only served to fuel unrest and discontent in the country, which is already facing a national strike over social security reforms and mining.
It concerns us that FQM appears to be willing to resume operations, which would violate the law and court decisions. Reopening the mine would require overturning the indefinite mining moratorium on new mining concessions from November 2023. Currently, the mine does not have the required contract to resume operations. Neither the current government nor your company have clarified how a new contract would differ from the previous two, both declared unconstitutional. If FQM is unable or unwilling to follow the constitution, national laws, and regulations of Panama, then it should not operate in the country.
Panamanians are demanding that FQM develop a safe and transparent closure process, carried out in coordination with the Panamanian government. As stated in FQM’s 2023 ESG Report, “Our closed properties use a comprehensive approach that incorporates safety, environment, community, and cost factors to identify risks and establish site specific targets.” It states that “engagement with local stakeholders” is a part of your approach, something that communities in Panama have also been requesting regarding closure planning.
A report published in December 2024 by the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW) concluded, after reviewing the Ninth Monitoring Report for the Cobre Panama mine, that the possibility of failure of the tailings dam is a “very serious and immediate concern.” It also found that the mine has triggered acid mine drainage without adequate water monitoring at the site. In 2022, CEO Tristan Pascall stated that, “All First Quantum's Tailings Storage Facilities comply with internationally recognised standards and are carefully managed with operational controls, regular inspections and close monitoring to improve safety and reduce risks.” Nonetheless, the ELAW report concludes that the Cobre Panama mine is not in full compliance of the GARD Guidelines or the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management.
We are concerned that First Quantum Minerals is using the ISDS cases to delay or halt regulatory reforms that protect communities and the environment from harmful projects. Similarly, we are concerned that the company is using this mechanism to pressure the Panamanian government to reopen the mine. Multiple United Nations bodies and experts have warned that ISDS shackles states in their efforts to combat climate change and to uphold their international human rights obligations.
In support of Panamanian civil society, we echo their demands and call on First Quantum Minerals to:
Work with the Panamanian Government and civil society to update the closure plan for the Cobre Panama mine. The plan must work towards a definitive closure of the mine that follows the strictest environmental and social guidelines for closure. Furthermore, FQM must be responsible for paying all of the closure and monitoring costs for the mine.
- Definitively drop all international arbitration proceedings against Panama. These cases often have a chilling effect on a country’s ability to uphold or pass environmental regulations, and have been denounced by the UN. In the case of Cobre Panama, FQM’s contract has been found to be in violation of the Panamanian constitution, and the economic consequences of that are the company’s responsibility not that of the Panamanian government.
- Respect the 2023 Supreme Court decision and the national laws of Panama, including the mining moratorium. The Panamanian government has decided that mining is not in its country’s best interests and has adopted protective measures to reflect that. FQM must respect these decisions and uphold the law.
- Implement and fund an environmental remediation plan as part of the mine closure process to ensure that the biodiverse region where the mine is located and nearby communities are not left with a degraded environment.
- Allow the environmental sanctioning process to move forward, and commit to only submitting an appeal if you have evidence that an environmental infraction did not occur.
Panamanians have clearly expressed that the Cobre Panama mine does not align with their vision for their country and economy. It is time for FQM to respect the decision by the Supreme Court, the national mining moratorium, and the demands for closure of nearby communities and civil society. As international organizations, we join the call of Panamanians for a safe closure and for the ISDS lawsuit to be dropped.
Additional Resources on Safe Mine Closure
- Safety First: Guidelines for Responsible Mine Tailings Management
- Closure and Responsible Exit: A requirement for environmental and climate justice in Latin America. Full report available in Spanish.
Signatories,
ARGENTINA
- ATTAC Argentina
- Espacio Cultural y Biblioteca Popular La Escuelita
BELGIUM
- University of Liege
BOLIVIA
- Terra Justa
CANADA
- Americas Policy Group (APG)
- Action citoyenne pour la justice fiscale, sociale et écologique - Attac Québec
- Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)
- Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA)
- Common Frontiers
- Climate Action Network Canada (CAN-Rac)
- Comité pour les droits humains en Amérique latine (CDHAL)
- Friends of the Earth Canada
- Le Groupe de Recherche Interdisciplinaire sur les Territoires d'Extractivisme (GRITE)
- Mining Injustice Solidarity Network
- Mining Justice Alliance
- Mining Watch Canada
- Le Lagopéde
- Le Journal des Alternatives
- Observatoire violence, criminalisation et démocratie
- Réseau international pour l'innovation sociale et écologique
- Rights Action
- Simcoe County Honduras Rights Monitor
- Victoria Central America Support Committee
CHILE
- Fundación Terram
- Observatorio Latinoamericano de Conflictos Ambientales (OLCA)
COLOMBIA
- Familias sembradoras de Territorios, Aguas y Autonomías y prácticas de autocuidado- Comunidades SETAA
- Comité para la Defensa del Agua y del Páramo de Santurbán
- HUMAN CONET
- Movimiento Social en Defensa de los Ríos Sogamoso y Chucuri - Movimiento Ríos Vivos
COSTA RICA
- Sindicato de Salud y Seguridad Social
- PRT
- Seccional del SITUN Escuela de Planificación Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica
ECUADOR
- Acción Ecológica
- Colectivo Ecologista Yasunidos Guapondelig
- Pueblo Kichwa Karanki
- Instituto de Estudios Ecologistas del Tercer Mundo (IEETM)
- Clinica Ambiental
- Territorio Indígena de los Pueblos y Nacionalidades de la Unión de Organizaciones Indígenas de Cotopaxi Residentes en Quito-Ecuador (UNORIC R.Q.E)
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
- Comité por la Unidad y los Derechos de la Mujer (CUDEM)
GERMANY
- PowerShift e.V.
- Rettet den Regenwald
GUATEMALA
- Consejo de autoridades ancestrales
- Consejo de Pueblos Maya CPO
- Frente Norte del Área Metropolitana -FRENAM-, San Pedro Ayampuc
LATIN AMERICA
- Asociación Interamericana para la Defensa del Ambiente (AIDA)
MEXICO
- Coordinadora de Pueblos del Oriente del Estado de México
- Otros Mundos Chiapas
- Perspectivas Interdisciplinarias en Red, asociación civil
- WITNESS
NETHERLANDS
- Transnational Institute (TNI)
PANAMA
- Adopta Bosque
- Asociación Biológica de Panamá
- Alianza de Mujeres de Panamá
- Asociación Espacio Encuentro de Mujeres
- Asociación de profesores de Panamá (Asopro)
- Centro de Capacitación Social de Panamá
- Centro de Incidencia Ambiental (CIAM)
- Colibrí Asociación Ecológica de Panamá
- Coalición Internacional de Mujeres y Familias (Cimuf)
- Colectivo YA ES YA
- Colectivo Voces Ecológicas (COVEC)
- Colegio de Biólogos de Panamá
- Comité Despierta Donoso y Omar Torrijos
- Comité Pro rescate de La Barqueta
- Congreso General Ngäbe-Buglé, Comisión de Asuntos Legales
- Congreso General de Wargandi
- Coordinadora Campesina por la Tierra-Donoso
- Fundación Naturaleza Panamá
- Fundación para el Desarrollo Integral, Comunitario y Conservación de los Ecosistemas en Panamá (FUNDICCEP)
- Fundación Rescate de Alimentos
- Epica Fundación
- Espacio Encuentro de Mujeres
- Fundación Pro Eco Azuero
- Instituto de la Mujer UP
- Mesa Técnica UICN
- Movimiento Campesino Munä
- Misioneros Claretianos de Panamá
- Movimiento Democrático Popular
- Movimiento Juventud Kuna
- Movimiento Otro Camino (MOCA)
- Movimiento Panamá Vale Más Sin Minería
- Movimiento Vigilia Nueva Soberanía
- Mujeres campesinas de Boca de tulu
- Proyecto Primates Panamá
- Red contra la VDYS de Veraguas
- SOMI Santuario Nacional
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute of Panama
- Sal de las Redes
- Unión Nacional de Mujeres Panameñas (UNAMUP)
PERU
- Cinecolibri
SPAIN
- Associación Cultural Potamolls
- Garaldea Ecofeminista
- Salva la Selva
UNITED STATES
- Batani Foundation
- Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
- Earthworks
- Institute for Policy Studies - Global Economy Program
- Malach Consulting
- Poets, Artists, Mothers
- Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Justice Team
- Western Shoshone Defense Project