"Panama’s vast Cobre mine is closed. So why is their security still restricting access to local villages?" 21 January 2025

'For the people of the nine Indigenous communities within the perimeter of the sprawling Cobre Panamá copper mine, travelling into and out of the concession is far from straightforward. An imposing metal gateway staffed by the mining company’s security guards blocks the road. People say the company severely restricts their movement in and out of the zone, letting them through only on certain days.' (...)

'A spokesperson for First Quantum Minerals said that restrictions to access were “only within the industrial zone itself, which is necessary for safety reasons – and indeed legally mandated”, adding that there were “no restrictions in the remainder of the region” and that “in cases of medical emergencies, [the company] provides first aid through its medical staff when necessary, and when required, transfers are made to the Coclesito Health Center”.

The spokesperson said that First Quantum’s wider investments in Panama had improved infrastructure in the area around the mine, including roads and bridges that had made access to amenities, such as supermarkets and local hospitals, safer and quicker.

Freedom of movement is only one of the complaints expressed by the roughly 4,000 Ngäbe people who live in the villages nearest the mine workings. They worry about the environmental and health effects that the vast mine could be having on their families. Allegations that the mining company’s security guards have evicted people, burned houses and threatened inhabitants have been voiced in the Panamanian parliament.' (...)

'Six rivers rise in the territory and local people report unexplained mass deaths of fish and prawns. They also describe a rise in illnesses and deaths since the mine started operations in 2014. Symptoms reported include vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach and kidney complaints, fever and skin lesions.

“Every year, we lose children and we don’t know why,” says Milciades Abrego, who lives in Nueva Lucha, within the mining perimeter.

Abrego’s two-year-old daughter, Miquiela, and his wife, Aleyda Castillo, 19, died within hours of each other in June 2024 in a mysterious outbreak of gastrointestinal illness. Both deteriorated rapidly before their evacuation out of the mining zone could be negotiated.

Eight people from the village suffering similar symptoms, including Abrego’s mother and another daughter, were eventually transferred to a hospital outside the zone by the health ministry.

There is no direct evidence linking any of these health problems with the mine. Researchers from the University of Panama took water and soil samples and tested local children in 2024, but the results have yet to be published.

First Quantum Minerals responded that the company had built a water system in Nueva Lucha for communities surrounding the mine site, “ensuring access to clean and safe drinking water for more than 20,000 people”, but that “unfortunately, a group of families chose not to connect to this safe water supply”.' (...)