The closure of the Cobre Panama mine following nationwide anti-mining protests is a case-in-point for the importance of mining companies’ community relations work. The $10 billion mine was projected to employ one in fifty workers in the country and generate 4-5% of the country’s GDP but, fatally, the operators lost the support of the population, for a myriad of avoidable reasons. The project failed to address concerns such as labour rights, which turned from protest to full-blown, national civil unrest. By resting on their laurels, First Quantum lost their social license to operate, and paid the ultimate price. Fulfilling the demand for critical raw materials created by the green energy transition will require new mining projects to be started over the next few decades. It is vital that mining companies ensure that citizens in mining communities are on side. The image of a copper mine larger than San Francisco in the Panamanian jungle sitting idle epitomises this point.
A story I've been reporting for months is in Bloomberg News this week. It's the story of how First Quantum Minerals built one of the world's largest and newest copper mines — and then saw it fall apart. The fate of Cobre Panama resonates far beyond the walls of First Quantum’s offices and the borders of Panama, highlighting a dilemma at the heart of the global transition away from fossil fuels. While governments are pushing to secure the raw materials to build electric vehicles, solar panels and high-voltage cables required for the energy transition, few of their citizens want the mines needed to produce them. But it's also a cautionary tale for the mining industry. Speaking with more than a dozen people close to First Quantum, it became clear that mistakes were made early in Cobre Panama's construction. Mistakes that strained the company's relationship with Panama's government and, by extension, its citizens. https://lnkd.in/gqRAPgbk
