For decades, Morgan & Morgan has been part of the development of the mining industry in Panama, representing multinational companies and others with various matters in relation to Panama’s mining industry.

For more than 25 years, the firm has been advising Minera Panama, S.A. (MPSA for its initials in Spanish), representation which commenced with successful negotiations of a concession agreement, approved by Law 9 of 1996, that includes a special tax regime, in connection with the US$10 Billion open-pit copper mining project Cobre Panamá, the biggest private sector investment in Panama history.

MPSA is today a subsidiary of Canada´s First Quantum Minerals, one of the world´s top six copper producers. MPSA’s mining concession, which consists, at the moment, of 12,955.1 hectares, is located 120 kilometres west of Panama City and 20 kilometres from the Caribbean Sea coast, in the district of Donoso, Colon province, in the Republic of Panama.  Moreover, the Government of Panama has approved an extension of MPSA’s concession agreement for an additional 20-year term.

The firm´s representation of MPSA has consisted, among others, in assisting MPSA with regulatory matters, permits, infrastructure development matters; environmental law matters, issues regarding land and surface rights; drafting of loan agreements before banking and financial entities; mineral streaming agreements; immigration and labour related matters; litigation matters; and every critical step on corporate matters related to Panamanian law and the project’s development.

The firm also has advised MPSA in the development of Cobre Panamá Power Station, a 300 MW two-unit coal-fired generating facility located in Punta Rincon, Donoso District, Colon Province. The power station will provide energy for the open-pit mine, processing center and port facility.

In addition, we have been advising Minera Cerro Quema, S.A. (a former wholly own subsidiary of Pershimco Resources, now a wholly own subsidiary of Orla Mining Ltd), with respect to its mining concessions in Panama and, among others, regulatory matters, permits, environmental law issues on land and surface rights and corporate matters related to Panamanian law.

Given the experience and breadth of our team, we are uniquely positioned among Panamanian law firms to handle all aspects of these challenging projects.