Nearly $30 million in mining funds awaits projects near Donoso, but municipalities face a bottleneck

Nearly $30 million linked to exports of material from the Donoso mine is already recorded in Panama’s budget and available for projects in communities near the site, according to Commerce and Industries Minister Julio Moltó.

Moltó gave the account after lawmaker Luis Duke asked about Panama’s export of 33,000 tons of copper to Europe. “Yes, deputy, that contribution of nearly thirty million dollars that you mention is recorded, incorporated into the budget and, on the president’s instructions, has been and will be allocated to works for residents of the areas near the project,” Moltó said. The mine has halted operations, but the funds remain available.

The money cannot move until municipalities submit complete project files and meet the required administrative conditions. Moltó said meetings with the mayors of La Pintada, Omar Torrijos and Donoso revealed a “bottleneck”: many municipalities lack the resources to prepare projects and satisfy the technical requirements. The government is working on an immediate solution to complete the files and a longer-term solution to strengthen technical capacity.

The remaining 38,000 tons being exported are subject to oversight and depend on copper prices. Moltó said the shipment was expected to leave in the coming days, on September 11. He also said the government is reviewing an audit report on the project through a high-level commission, with President José Raúl Mulino holding the final say.

Moltó said arbitration proceedings linked to the mine involve claims totaling about $27 billion and are currently suspended. He acknowledged that the cases threaten Panama, but said they would not determine the government’s decision on the mine’s future.

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Yes, deputy, that contribution of nearly thirty million dollars that you mention is recorded, incorporated into the budget and, on the president’s instructions, has been and will be allocated to works for residents of the areas near the project.