Apparently it is getting heated down there as the people protest a backroom deal to allow a canadian miner access to 32k acres to mine for copper. On its face, it appears to violate their constitution which declares all minerals belong to the state. Why ordinarily quiet Panama has erupted in deadly protests (msn.com) Protesters disagree. Panama’s constitution declares all mineral deposits the property of the state, to be extracted only by concession. The contract, negotiated without the public’s knowledge, gives First Quantum the right to mine copper across a 32,000-acre expanse in the Donoso district on the country’s Caribbean coast for at least 20 years. “We have to eliminate mining from Panama at the root,” lawyer Cherly Santana said Sunday at a gathering on the Cinta Costera, an oceanside walkway a mile or so from the canal. “Our main resource is nature.” First Quantum Minerals did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Bonita To, its director of investor relations, said last week that the company was proud to contribute 8,000 jobs to the Panamanian economy and was committed to operating the mine in an “environmentally safe manner.” She called the Cobre Panama mine the largest private investment in the country’s history, and said it now accounts for nearly 5 percent of Panama’s GDP, makes up 75 percent of the country’s export goods and has created at least 40,000 jobs. “We believe in this project and its potential and welcome the opportunity to have constructive dialogue with the people of Panama about its future,” she said in a statement.
