(Panama City) Panama’s Supreme Court on Tuesday declared the granting of a 20-year concession to a Canadian copper mine unconstitutional.
The awarding of the concession had sparked weeks of protests by environmentalists and others who said the mining activities would damage a forested coastal area and threaten water supplies.
The announcement by the nine-judge court, after four days of deliberations, sparked cheers among protesters waiting outside waving Panamanian flags.
“This is what we’ve been waiting for,” protester Raisa Banfield said after what she called an agonizing wait. “The president must suspend operations today. »
The open-pit mine dispute has led to some of the largest protests in Panama in recent years, including the blockade of the mine’s power plant. Protesters also blocked sections of the Pan-American Highway, including near the border with Costa Rica. Just before the decision was announced, they opened the road to allow freight trucks to pass.
First Quantum Minerals took note of the court’s decision on Tuesday.
“We would like to affirm our unwavering commitment to complying with regulations in all aspects of our operations in the country,” the company said in a statement.
“We will make further comments when additional details of the decision are made public. »
Minera Panama, the local subsidiary of First Quantum Minerals, said in a statement earlier this month that small boats had blocked its port in Colón province, preventing supplies from reaching the mine.
Naval police reported that a ship carrying coal decided to turn back due to “the hostility of a group of protesters who, from their boats, threw stones and blunt craft objects” before be dispersed.
The demonstrators, a broad coalition of Panamanians, feared the impact of the mine on nature and in particular on the water supply.
The mine employs thousands of people and represents 3% of Panama’s gross domestic product. In March, Panamanian lawmakers reached an agreement with First Quantum allowing Minera Panama to continue operating the massive copper mine in central Panama for at least 20 more years.
The mine was temporarily closed last year when negotiations between the government and First Quantum broke down over payments demanded by the government.
The contract, definitively approved on October 20, allows the subsidiary to continue operating the mine in a biodiverse jungle on the Atlantic coast west of the capital for the next 20 years, with the possibility of extending it for another 20 additional years if the mine remains in operation.
Since the protests began, the government came close to passing a law that would have terminated the contract, but backtracked during a debate in the National Assembly on November 2. The protesters’ last hope was that Panamanian courts would declare the contract unconstitutional.