<p>Panama will reject all new mining projects, the president said on Friday, as his government defends a controversial contract extending operations for two decades at a major copper mine that has sparked growing protests demanding its cancellation.</p>.<p>President Laurentino Cortizo announced that the new mining restrictions will apply to both future mining projects as well as those currently seeking permits.</p>.<p>"All of them will be rejected," he wrote in a post on X. "This ban will go into effect from today."</p>.<p>The abrupt mining pause comes barely a week after Cortizo hailed the revised contract that allows the local unit of Canada's First Quantum to continue operating its lucrative Cobre Panama project.</p>.<p>The extended First Quantum concession for the sprawling open-pit mine guarantees state coffers at least $375 million annually while allowing it to operate for at least 20 more years, with the possibility of further extensions.</p>.<p>Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets to criticize the deal, as well as the mine's environmental costs, and demand its withdrawal.</p>.<p>Earlier on Friday, Economy Minister Hector Alexander echoed Cortizo's support for the contract.</p>.<p>"Panama is a mining country," Alexander told Reuters, arguing that without the mine, the country's economy would barely grow this year, versus the robust 6 per cent growth the government estimates.</p>.ED files charge sheet against man named in Panama Papers for holding undisclosed foreign assets.<p>The Cobre Panama mine alone accounts for nearly 5 per cent of Panama's economy.</p>.<p>Also on Friday, Panama's top court agreed to consider a second lawsuit challenging the contract.</p>.<p>In recent days, protesters have erected road blockades to pressure authorities, which also led to the suspension of classes nationwide earlier this week.</p>.<p>In an interview, Edison Broce, a lawmaker who opposes the contract, predicted that politicians who support it will be punished in elections next year.</p>.<p>He urged Cortizo and his government to heed the protesters. </p>
<p>Panama will reject all new mining projects, the president said on Friday, as his government defends a controversial contract extending operations for two decades at a major copper mine that has sparked growing protests demanding its cancellation.</p>.<p>President Laurentino Cortizo announced that the new mining restrictions will apply to both future mining projects as well as those currently seeking permits.</p>.<p>"All of them will be rejected," he wrote in a post on X. "This ban will go into effect from today."</p>.<p>The abrupt mining pause comes barely a week after Cortizo hailed the revised contract that allows the local unit of Canada's First Quantum to continue operating its lucrative Cobre Panama project.</p>.<p>The extended First Quantum concession for the sprawling open-pit mine guarantees state coffers at least $375 million annually while allowing it to operate for at least 20 more years, with the possibility of further extensions.</p>.<p>Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets to criticize the deal, as well as the mine's environmental costs, and demand its withdrawal.</p>.<p>Earlier on Friday, Economy Minister Hector Alexander echoed Cortizo's support for the contract.</p>.<p>"Panama is a mining country," Alexander told Reuters, arguing that without the mine, the country's economy would barely grow this year, versus the robust 6 per cent growth the government estimates.</p>.ED files charge sheet against man named in Panama Papers for holding undisclosed foreign assets.<p>The Cobre Panama mine alone accounts for nearly 5 per cent of Panama's economy.</p>.<p>Also on Friday, Panama's top court agreed to consider a second lawsuit challenging the contract.</p>.<p>In recent days, protesters have erected road blockades to pressure authorities, which also led to the suspension of classes nationwide earlier this week.</p>.<p>In an interview, Edison Broce, a lawmaker who opposes the contract, predicted that politicians who support it will be punished in elections next year.</p>.<p>He urged Cortizo and his government to heed the protesters. </p>