Singapore Waiting for Panama Mining Clearance

In April of this year, Singapore’s Temasek Holdings bought $500 million worth of shares from Canada’s Inmet Mining Corporation, owner of the Minera Panama copper mine project in Panama’s Colon province.

There is just one hitch:  the Panamanian government must modify Article 4 of the country’s mining code prior to September 30 to allow foreign governments to invest in mining activities.  Otherwise,  the transaction is automatically null and Inmet has to return $500 million to Singapore with interest.

On Wednesday, however, the Panamanian government confirmed that it has agreed to negotiate a modification to the mining code in exchange for an increase in royalties from the copper mining concession.

According to Inmet projections, the mine could produce 255,000 tons of copper over 30 years, as well as 90,000 ounces of gold.

Inmet Petaquilla Camp Banner