Canada’s First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM) said on Thursday it had halted ore processing operations at its giant Cobre Panama copper mine, in the latest escalation of a dispute with Panama’s government over tax and royalty payments.
Negotiations between the Toronto-based miner and the country’s government over a new contract for the mine turned sour in December, when the President announced a plan to halt the operation.
Many exploration geologists would call it quits after 40-years scouring for gold in 19 countries, finding, and then selling a gold discovery for C$1.2 billion, receiving the Thayer Lindsley International Discovery Award and the Mining Man of the Year.
But quitting is not in books for Dr. Keith Barron who’s is at the helm of Aurania Resources Ltd. [TSXV: ARU; OTCQB: AUIAF; Frankfurt: 20Q] stalking what he believes could be the next world-class discovery in Ecuador.
Members of the Bolivian opposition have questioned whether the deal, which was signed last month between the state firm YLB and three Chinese companies, will benefit the country.
In late January, Bolivia’s Luis Arce government signed a $1 billion agreement with the Chinese firms CATL, BRUNP, and CMOC (CBC) and the Bolivian state company Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) to explore lithium deposits in the South American nation.
The CBC are Chinese firms with past involvement in lithium extraction, battery recycling, and metal mining, respectively.
Analysts expect disruption to world’s second-largest producer to boost prices of the metal
Widespread anti-government protests are disrupting copper output in Peru, the world’s second-biggest producer, triggering predictions of a further surge in prices for the metal which has already rocketed in recent months as China’s resource-hungry economy reopens.
Demonstrators demanding early elections and the resignation of President Dina Boluarte have thrown up roadblocks across the country and attacked mines, causing production slowdowns and closures in the Latin American nation’s copper operations, which account for about 10 per cent of global supply.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Panama’s maritime authority is crimping First Quantum Minerals Ltd.’s efforts to ship copper out of the country, as the big Canadian copper miner faces the prospect of shutting down its giant Panamanian mine in a matter of weeks.
Late last year, Panama’s government ordered the Cobre Panama mine to close after the Central American country fell out with First Quantum over terms of a new fiscal agreement. The site had remained open pending an appeal with the Ministry of Commerce and Industries.
https://www.northernminer.com/
Peru’s ongoing political crisis spells more trouble for miners in the world’s No. 2 copper producing nation, following two years marked by increasingly frequent protests targeting the industry.
The country was thrown into turmoil on Dec. 7, when former president Pedro Castillo was removed from office after less than a year and half on the job, after trying to dissolve Congress. The leftist Castillo, who made the move hours before he was set to face a third impeachment vote by the divided Congress, was impeached anyway, and has been arrested and charged with rebellion and conspiracy.
From Peru’s social unrest to Panama’s industry intervention, Latin America is becoming a trickier destination for big diggers.
Latin America has long been a favored destination for mining majors as a reliable source of metals, particularly copper. But increasingly, it’s becoming a trouble spot. From Chile’s tax hike to Peru’s social unrest and Panama’s intervention in a massive mine, all is not well.
The problem is clear enough. State infrastructure, pensions, education and health care were threadbare in much of the region even before a pandemic that exposed deep inequities.
Berlin trails global powers like China and the US in acquiring lithium, a key component in electric vehicle batteries. German Chancellor Scholz will address the issue on his trip to South America this weekend.
Roughly 57% of the world’s lithium deposits are found in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. Because it’s used in electric vehicle battery production, the natural resource is highly sought-after. Globally, the Chinese have invested billions to ensure their place at the front of the line. The US, too, is in a better position than its European partners.
An upsurge in the violent protests wracking Peru is crimping copper output in the world’s No. 2 supplier, with about 30% of its production at risk at a time of low global stocks and high prices.
One copper mine is offline after demonstrators stormed the site, another has seen shipments choked by roadblocks, while others have slowed operations as a precaution to manage scarce supplies of fuel and other inputs, according to industry group SNMPE.
An upsurge in the violent protests wracking Peru is crimping copper output in the world’s No. 2 supplier, with about 30% of its production at risk at a time of low global stocks and high prices.
One copper mine is offline after demonstrators stormed the site, another has seen shipments choked by roadblocks, while others have slowed operations as a precaution to manage scarce supplies of fuel and other inputs, according to industry group SNMPE.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/
Report says some running illegal mines are occupying community airstrips
Brazil’s government has declared a public health emergency for the Yanomami people in the Amazon who are suffering from malnutrition and diseases such as malaria, as a consequence of illegal mining.
The decree, signed by Health Minister Nisia Trindade late Friday, has no expiration date and allows for hiring extra personnel. It determines that the team in charge has to publish reports regarding the Indigenous group’s health and general well-being.
Following Friday’s attack that set on fire a worker housing area, Glencore announced that it has halted operations at the Antapaccay copper mine in southern Peru.
In a media statement, the company said that yesterday’s incidents endangered the safety of its employees and, therefore, authorities should start taking action to safeguard people’s integrity and private property rights.
Other precious gems are more valuable. ‘But in beauty,’ one miner said, ‘there is no stone that can be compared to it.’
LA TRINIDAD, Mexico — Héctor Montes has been around opals his entire life and has held a concession from the Mexican government to mine the stone for 40 years. But at 76, he said he could still feel a rush of adrenaline when he picked up a raw opal that had an especially promising glint — he never knows what it will look like in its finished state.
“There are no two alike,” he said of the stones he shapes and polishes. His workshop, strewn with rocks and lapidary equipment, is part of the family opal business that he runs in this community of about 2,500 residents in the central Mexican state of Querétaro, one of the two main regions in the country where opal is mined today.
(Bloomberg) — Chile’s government rejected a $2.5 billion iron-ore project near a nature reserve in the north of the country on concern it would endanger local species, a victory for President Gabriel Boric’s green agenda that has business groups fuming.
A committee of government ministers on Wednesday voted unanimously against Andes Iron’s Dominga project, Environment Minister Maisa Rojas told a press conference, citing the “unique ecological value” of the area. Andes Iron, owned by the local Delano and Garces families, said it would appeal the decision in environmental tribunals.
Not ‘very far away’ from striking a deal with the Panama government, company says
Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals Ltd. said it isn’t “very far away” from striking a deal with the Panama government to ensure that it can keep its flagship copper mine alive.
The company has been negotiating a new contract for the rights of the Cobre Panama mine, situated about 120 kilometres west of Panama City, for about a year, stopping briefly on Dec. 16 after the Panama government halted discussions and announced plans to suspend Quantum’s operations.
