PANAMA CITY (Reuters) -Canada-based miner First Quantum Minerals Ltd and its subsidiary Minera Panama began arbitration processes against Panama, the country’s ministry of commerce and industry said on Saturday, because the two sides have been locked in a disagreement over payments and mine operations.
Panama’s government on Monday ordered First Quantum to pause operations at its flagship Cobre Panama copper mine after the corporate missed a deadline to finalize a deal that might have increased payments to the federal government by at the very least $375 million.
Despite having agreed to fulfill with the federal government, the corporate selected Friday to “advance efforts” by going ahead with two arbitration processes, the ministry said in a press release, without giving further details.
An official from the country’s economy and finance ministry told Reuters on Friday that Panama was on the lookout for a “fair” deal by which the corporate complies with the obligations its large operations demand.
First Quantum didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
The corporate initiated one in all the arbitration processes under a 1997 contract, which regulates its operations, and the opposite under the free trade agreement between Canada and Panama, the federal government added.
The federal government has been and goes to maintain working with law firms Squire Patton Boggs and Allen & Overy to unravel the disputes, a spokesperson for Panama’s commerce and industry ministry said. Each firms didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
Panama was asking for a maintenance plan for the corporate, which is taken into account the biggest private investment within the Central American country and accounts for roughly 3.5% of Panama’s gross domestic product.
“The resolution … that orders Minera Panama to perform a care and maintenance plan for the Panama copper mine stays in force, and the federal government will monitor its full compliance,” the ministry said in a press release.
(Reporting by Valentine Hilaire; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by Josie Kao)
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