Tag Archives: Panama

First Quantum and Panama Government agree on draft contract for Cobre Panama

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Precious metals, , , ,

First Quantum Minerals Ltd and its Panamanian subsidiary, Minera Panamá, S.A. (MPSA), have agreed and finalised the draft of a concession contract with the Government of Panamá related to continuing operations at the Cobre Panamá copper-gold mine.

The Proposed Concession Contract meets the objectives outlined by the Panamanian Government in January 2022 related to government revenues, environmental protections and labour standards, according to FQM. It also provides legal protections necessary to both parties to ensure durability and stability.

The contract is subject to a 30-day public consultation process and approvals by the Panamanian Cabinet, Comptroller General of the Republic and the National Assembly. The Proposed Concession Contract will have an initial 20-year term, with a 20-year extension option and additional extensions for the life of mine.

Additionally, the Panamá Maritime Authority has confirmed it will issue a resolution today for MPSA to resume concentrate loading operations at the Punta Rincón port. Loading operations were halted back in January with FQM saying the reason was tied to allegations its scale was improperly calibrated. Soon after this, First Quantum halted ore processing operations, saying the action was a result of the Panamá Maritime Authority’s refusal to permit copper concentrate loading operations at the mine’s port, Punta Rincón, in accordance. Ore processing is expected to resume and restore the mine to full production levels over the next several days.

The two companies have been engaged in a long-running contract dispute that hinges on disagreements over tax rates and royalties at the Cobre Panama mine.

The proposed contract will include the following principal economic terms once it takes effect:

  • Payment by MPSA of $375 million plus an additional $20 million to cover taxes and royalties up to the year-end 2022
  • Payment by MPSA starting in 2023 of an annual minimum contribution of $375 million in government income, comprised of corporate taxes, withholding taxes and a profit-based mineral royalty of 12 to 16 percent, with downside protections;
  • Downside protections to the annual minimum contribution under the following conditions:
    • Until the end of 2025, copper price below $3.25 per pound; and
    • From 2026 and beyond, a total tax contribution for that year of less than $300 million.
  • Applicable royalty rate (the operating margin and the effective royalty rate) at various operating margins as shown below:
    • 0-20% – 12%
    • >20-30% – 13%
    • >30-40% – 14%
    • >40-50% – 15%
    • > 50 – 16%
  • Application of the general regime of income tax, including deductions for depletion, and withholding taxes in Panamá.

Tristan Pascall, Chief Executive Officer, said: “After a lengthy and arduous negotiation process, the finalised Proposed Concession Contract outlines the basis for the future of Cobre Panamá for all stakeholders, including the government, our investors and the country of Panamá. I am pleased that we now have a pathway to continuing our ongoing substantial investments in the country. I wish to thank our Panamanian and international employees and their families and our suppliers for their patience and resilience during this time. We now await formal approval of the Proposed Concession Contract and look forward to a long and constructive partnership with the Government of Panamá for many years to come.”

First Quantum to operate world’s largest ultra-class truck trolley fleet with Liebherr T 284

Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , ,

The day after announcing it will accelerate the implementation of its existing low carbon solutions and trigger future projects at MINExpo 2021, Liebherr has confirmed that it will supply a further 11 T 284 trucks to operate on trolley lines at First Quantum Minerals Limited (FQML)’s Sentinel and Cobre Panama mines with the miner claiming, in the process, the title of the world’s largest ultra-class truck fleet on trolley.

In 2013, Liebherr received an initial request from FQML to develop a 360 t trolley-capable haul truck for mine sites in Panama and Zambia. The trucks were required to integrate with the trolley power line that FQML had designed and developed for the sites.

Agreeing to this partnership, Liebherr engineers began developing, testing and verifying the trolley solution. Two Liebherr T 284 trucks with the Trolley Assist System were commissioned at Sentinel copper mine in Zambia in 2016 and testing of the trolley solution began in February of 2017, with 12 months allotted for the customer to evaluate the trucks, the trolley and the customer service.

At the end of the trial period, FQML expressed it was pleased with the results of the Trolley Assist System and the performance of the T 284, leading to an order for six more trolley-capable T 284 trucks at Sentinel mine, along with 30-trolley-capable T 284 trucks for Cobre Panama copper mine in Panama, Liebherr says.

As a mark of success of the partnership between FQML and Liebherr, along with the performance of the T 284 with trolley solution, FQML recently confirmed an order for a further 11 T 284 trucks. These three trucks for Sentinel mine and eight trucks for Cobre Panama mine will join the existing fleets operating with the Trolley Assist System. This soon-to-be fleet of 38 T 284s in Panama will claim the title of the world’s largest ultra-class truck fleet on trolley, according to Liebherr.

“Trolley Assist truck systems have become integral to the development of First Quantum’s large scale open-pit truck haulage operations,” an FQML representative says. “Over the last decade, First Quantum has emerged as one of the industry leaders in implementation of Trolley Assist systems across mine planning and design, installation, operations, and maintenance. We consider our purpose designed Trolley Assist systems deliver a step change in measurable haulage performance through increased truck productivity, improved maintenance cost, and reduced carbon emissions.

“During the past five years, Liebherr has proven itself as a proactive partner in the development of Trolley Assist capable truck fleet systems. First Quantum has selected the Liebherr T 284 ultra-class truck for some of our Trolley Assist deployments at our large-scale mining operations in Zambia and, more recently, as the sole deployed truck at our Panama mining operations. With a high degree of co-operation between our organisations, we see this partnership continuing to grow in years to come.”

Oliver Hoelzer, Director of Mining Liebherr-Panamá, says: “Even before the arrival of the very first truck, Liebherr Panama’s relationship with FQML Panama has been more of a mutual partnership than a pure business relationship. Our highly committed team recognises that Liebherr’s own success is intrinsically linked to the success of FQML.”

Liebherr has also delivered six trolley-capable 100 t T 236 haul trucks to the Erzberg iron ore mine in Austria, bringing the total number of Liebherr trucks with the Trolley Assist System to 56 once FQML’s newest fleet has been commissioned.

Liebherr aims to offer fossil fuel free solutions for its entire digging, dozing, and hauling product range by 2030.

GIW MDX-750 keeps slurry moving at Panama copper mine

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Water management, , , , ,

GIW Industries says its recent success with a customer at a Panama copper mine bodes well for the future of copper mining in Central America and the pump manufacturer’s potential for business in this area and beyond.

The Panama copper mine customer needed to ensure continuous and efficient operation of its mine and, according to GIW, was looking for a dependable partner with experience in the market, a good track record in similar applications and excellent technical support.

Reliable parts supply was at the top of the priority list, GIW said, while it also needed a company that could help solve their system challenges and offer continuous improvements.

GIW said: “The customer was familiar with GIW’s success in Chile with the MDX-750 slurry pump and wanted to achieve the same performance.”

GIW supplied a customised MDX-750 pump – one of the world’s the largest mill pumps – featuring all the latest slurry handling technology, it said. In addition to GIW’s long-lasting wear materials, the company included technology to allow the company to monitor vibrations and check the temperature of the bearings.

The company added: “GIW design engineers converted our traditional imperial threads to metric, and all seal configurations have been customised to the customer’s specifications. In the future, the customer will have the capability to test the oil quality and assess parts’ wear life. They also have the ability to optimise their pump by adding GIW’s remotely adjusted mechanical suction liner (RAMSL) feature.”

The RAMSL function allows for efficient pump operation in aggressive wear applications, according to GIW.

Benefits of the MDX pump include increased output, reduced downtime and easier maintenance, the company says. This increased efficiency and a longer wear life results in a lower total cost of ownership.

This success is an example of GIW’s ability to provide reliable service around the world, it said, with GIW collaborating with its parent company’s (KSB) teams in Australia and Central America to coordinate the engineering and delivery of the pumps to site.

First ore for FQM’s Cobre Panama copper mine

Base metals, Bulk handling, Mine operation news, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, , , , , , , , ,

First Quantum Minerals has introduced first ore to the processing plant at its 74 Mt/y Cobre Panama open-pit copper mine in Panama.

On February 7, ore was introduced through primary crushing and onto the stockpile with initial feed rates between 4,000-5,000 t/h. Then, on February 11, ore was introduced through to the first milling circuit.

Operation on ore continues and will move into all other sections of the processing plant including producing copper concentrate, according to First Quantum. The company is now focused on an efficient phased ramp-up for Cobre Panama continuing through 2019.

At full tilt, Cobre Panama is expected to produce 350,000 t of copper from an in-pit crushing and conveying set up that includes four box cuts with semi-mobile primary crushers – two per conveyor line – feeding two in-pit conveyor lines that feed two overland conveyors after a transfer station to the secondary crushing and the main process plant. The company uses a fleet of Komatsu Mining P&H 4100XPC electric shovels; 363 t Liebherr T 284C trucks, Komatsu Mining Le Tourneau L2350 large wheel loaders (with SR drive), Liebherr R 9350 hydraulic excavators and Cat 777G 100 t trucks at the operation.