A Canadian mining company central to Panama protests says it may have to suspend operations

The Canadian mining company whose contract with Panama’s government has triggered weeks of protests said yesterday [Macau time] that it has reduced operations and soon may have to suspend them due to a blockade of its mine’s power plant.

Minera Panama, the local subsidiary of First Quantum Minerals, said in a statement that small boats had blocked its port in Colon province, preventing supplies from reaching the copper mine.

“If the illegal actions continue impeding the necessary supplies to operate the power plant, the company will reduce the remaining processing train this week and will temporarily suspend production,” the statement said.

Last week, naval police reported that a ship carrying coal decided to turn back rather than dock in the mine’s port due to “hostility from a group of protesters who from their boats threw rocks and blunt homemade objects” before being dispersed by authorities.

Panama has been roiled by weeks of massive street protests and highway blockades as citizens worried about the impact on the environment pressure the government to revoke the contract.

The protesters, a broad coalition of Panamanians, fear the mine’s impact on nature and especially on the water supply.