Panama has promising mineral prospects due to its geology from tectonic and volcanic activity. Mining has increased with high commodity prices and establishment of CAMIPA in 1990. CAMIPA helped update the mining code and attract exploration. Major projects include the Cobre Panama copper mine, expected to produce $1.5 billion annually for Panama once operational. CAMIPA now aims to introduce environmental and social frameworks to the mining code to ensure sustainability and community benefits.
2. CAMIPA
Prime
prospects
Panama has become a land of opportunity for the
mining sector. Zorel Morales of the Mining Chamber
of Panama (CAMIPA) talks to Gay Sutton about
the prospects for the industry, and a campaign to
introduce environmental and social frameworks to
the country’s mining code
3. CAMIPA
P
anama has a fascinating geology, In the wave of exploration that followed,
lying over four colliding tectonic the Cerro Colorado copper reserves, which
plates. The presence of both had been identified by earlier government
tectonic movement and volcanic exploration, were shown to be truly world
activity over a long period of class. A similar class of reserves was
time has created a very promising area for identified in the Petaquilla area and many
mineral exploration. smaller resources of copper and gold were
Mining here goes back a long way. The found around the county. However, it wasn’t
region was one of Central America’s richest until the price of these commodities started
sources of gold before the Spanish conquest to rise dramatically that interest grew and
and mineral exploitation continued investment began to pour into the country.
through to the mining moratorium in 1950. Between 1992 and 1999 gold was mined at
But mining has never been Santa Rosa, and if the current
highly visible in Panama, program of exploration
94,000
the country being mainly proves successful the mine
renowned for its iconic will be brought back into
canal. In recent years, production. Another gold
however, just as engineers
have been working to widen
Ounces mine, Mina Cerro Quema,
is under development in
this unique shipping route Gold produced the Azuero Peninsula and
between the Pacific and in Petaquilla Mining is scheduled to go into
Atlantic oceans, several District in 2011 production next year. In
factors have come together the highly prospective
to bring Panamanian Petaquilla Mining District
mining to the forefront once again and area exploration and mining is handled
curiously, to link its progress with that of by Minera Panama, SA a wholly owned
the Panama Canal. subsidiary of Inmet Mining Ltd from Canada,
The formation of CAMIPA, the Mining and Petaquilla Gold, SA a Panamanian/
Chamber of Panama, in 1990 was the Canadian JV which currently operates
starting point of an important shift toward the Petaquilla Gold Mine. They produced
establishing mining as an industrial sector 94,000 ounces of gold in 2011. However,
in Panama. “The first thing the Chamber CAMIPA’s main focus is now to bring the
did was to collaborate with the government highly rich Petaquilla copper resource into
of the time to set up changes to the mining production. Expected to cost in the region
code,” explained CAMIPA executive director of $5 billion the project will culminate in
Drill program in Zorel Morales. “This opened the way for the opening of the Cobre Panama Mine.
the Panama Canal private companies to undertake exploration The timing of this major development
Expansion Program across the country.” could not have been more propitious from
4. CAMIPA
the skills perspective. “There are currently
around 10,000 people working on the canal
widening project. If everything continues
as expected, Cobre Panama will reach
the peak of employment at the time the
canal project reaches completion in 2016,”
Morales said. “The workforce released from
that project will have exactly the right skills
for mine construction.” This will provide
an ample supply of highly skilled miners
for Cobre Panama and other mines under
development, as well as job continuity for
the Panamanian workforce.
CAMIPA is an association of some 30
mining, services and consulting companies
operating in both the metallic and non-
metallic mining sectors and plays a leading
role in developing the mining sector in
Panama. This year sees the culmination Mills on the Molejón Gold project
of a campaign to create a pipeline of
highly trained Panamanian engineers “When we made the first changes to frameworks into the mining code, to government, companies and institutions.
and geologists for the rapidly expanding the mining code in 1990 they were very protect the environment and ensure that “But now is not the right time to
sector. “We have been working with the successful and opened the country to the benefits from mining are shared with open this dialogue,” Morales said. “Two
Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá, mining and exploration. However, they the local communities in a way that is years ago the government attempted to
and they will begin offering degrees in didn’t include any environmental and sustainable and will continue to benefit introduce its own changes to the mining
geological engineering this year,” Morales social impact policies, simply because they them once the mines have closed. “We feel law without consulting anyone.” Ignoring
continued. “They will then widen this to were not an issue at that time,” Morales we have a great opportunity to do this, and the interests of the indigenous people
include mining engineering.” said. “They are now.” do it well,” Morales continued. “We can learn has proved immensely damaging. Cerro
Perhaps the biggest challenge for CAMIPA wants to introduce from the experiences of other countries, and Colorado, the country’s biggest copper
CAMIPA, is a battle still to be fought. environmental, social and mine-closure introduce the best elements from the start.” deposit, is located on the Indian Comarca
The organization has already prepared lands, and after a dispute and considerable
a significant body of material, gained the unrest over government plans to construct
“The workforce released from the cooperation of international companies
and institutions, and drawn on experiences
hydropower plants in the area, the
government has been forced to back down
canal project will have exactly the right around the world. The next step is to open
a national dialogue, involving everyone
and ban hydropower plant construction as
well as mining in the Comarca.
skills for mine construction” with an interest in the subject, including
the Indian people, local communities, the
“We can’t begin this dialogue until the
government has resolved its issues with the
5. CAMIPA
Indians. In the meantime, Cobre Panama is of impressive environmental achievements.
a world-class project and the environmental, The Petaquilla lies in the MesoAmerican
social and technical aspects are being biological corridor, a protected forest that
handled very well,” Morales explained. in Panama has been devastated by the
“We believe that when the Indians see the growth of subsistence agriculture. An area
benefits it brings to the local communities that once boasted millions of hectares of
in terms of employment, sustainable forest now has just 250,000 hectares
businesses and industries, healthcare and so remaining. “Minera Panama undertook
on, it will be very persuasive argument, and a study with universities and institutions
they will want some of this for themselves.” from the US and Canada, which showed
Minera Panama, SA already has a record that by 2050 there would be only 15,000 ha
“We can learn from the experiences
of other countries, and introduce the
best elements from the start” Parade for mining with the participation of more than 2000 people, on March 10 in the province of Cocle
left. On the basis of this, they have put into production it will produce 250 million
action an environmental management plan tonnes of copper a year. To give you an
to ensure that further degradation will not idea of scale, the Panama Canal currently
occur from now on.” produces a profit to the country of around
More than that, the company is working $1.5 billion a year, but with Cobre Panama,
to protect biodiversity, and relocate mining will produce more than that from a
endangered species to ensure their survival. mixture of royalties, taxes and investment
Educational programs are being rolled out into social and environmental management
to the farming communities with topics as plans. So to sum up, we currently have some
wide ranging as the use of insecticides and great projects in hand, but there are plenty
fertilizers, modern farming techniques, of opportunities for further exploration
forming cooperatives, developing marketing and development. After all we have only
chains, taking care of the forest and even explored around 40 percent of the country
starting alternative businesses. and the rest is still to be done.”
As mining continues to become
established in Panama, there are great
For more information about
opportunities for the future. “Gold is already CAMIPA visit:
the biggest export from Panama,” Morales www.camipa.org
Control room to monitor the process of Petaquilla Gold LTD said, “and when Cobre Panama goes into
