PANAMA CITY, May 31, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Panama's government said Friday it would start maintenance work at a major mine forced to shut by protests, but insisted the project was not tantamount to the pit reopening.

Central America's biggest copper mine, the Canadian-owned Cobre Panama pit, closed in 2023 following weeks of crippling protests over its environmental impact.

Maintenance will be carried out by a subsidiary of Canada's First Quantum Minerals "to prevent environmental damage" from materials stored at the mine, Trade and Industry Minister Julio Molto told a news conference.

"This decision (...) does not imply the reactivation of the mine," Molto said.

First Quantum Minerals said it would finance the work by exporting 121,000 tonnes of copper concentrate stored at the site since it closed down.

Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino said last month that his government was working toward reopening the mine, without clarifying how he plans to tackle legal hurdles.

The country's Supreme Court ruled in November 2023 that a contract allowing First Quantum Minerals to continue operating the site was unconstitutional.

Environmentalist Raisa Banfield criticized Friday's announcement as the Canadian giant "can't manage the mine."

She called for an external audit to "establish the definitive closure plan."

Cobre Panama, which began operations in 2019, had produced about 300,000 tonnes of copper concentrate a year, representing 75 percent of the country's exports and about five percent of its national economic output.

It employed around 37,000 workers directly and indirectly.