Nine months have passed since the representatives of the Government and Minera Panamá agreed on the new terms that will govern the extraction of copper from the mountains of Donoso, province of Colón, and to date, there is no exact date on the next steps that must be completed with the signing of the new contract reports La Prensa.

The Minister of Commerce and Industries ( MICI ), Federico Alfaro Boyd, pointed out that the process of drafting the draft of the new contract is advanced, but he did not advance a date to finish this point.

"It is a complicated and technical contract, we are in the final stage of preparation to then submit it to a public consultation and then send it to the National Assembly for approval," said the official.

In accordance with the new terms, Minera Panamá, a subsidiary of the Canadian First Quantum, will make an annual payment that may not be less than $375 million, a transfer that will be made up of royalties, Income Tax (ISR), and other taxes that are not currently applied, such as the tax for the payment of interest and profits.

In the 1997 contract that was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2018, royalties were established in favor of the State of 2% on the gross sales of the mine, but this will change to a payment of 12% to 16% on the gross profits, once the company deducts production costs such as payroll, purchase of equipment, among others.

Alfaro assured that no new elements have been incorporated after the closing of the negotiation last January and reiterated that it is a technical issue that must be clearly reflected in the document.