Canadian mining company starts arbitration in case of closed copper mine in Panama

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Canada’s First Quantum Minerals Ltd. has announced it will start arbitration proceedings to fight the closure order of an open-pit copper mine in Panama, or possibly obtain damages. First Quantum says one arbitration was filed under the Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement. It says it has also started proceedings before the International Court of Arbitration, which would meet in Miami, Florida. In a historic ruling, Panama’s Supreme Court this week declared that legislation granting the mine a 20-year concession was unconstitutional. That decision was celebrated by thousands of Panamanians activists who had argued the project would damage a forested coastal area and threaten water supplies.