Politics & Panama10 Jan 2023 17:34
From the FT today an interesting story about one of the worlds biggest copper mine operators getting screwed over by greedy national government. This is perhaps both a warning for SOLG and a come on for anyone looking to bid?
"First Quantum Minerals has threatened to close its vast copper mine in Panama if it fails to resolve a tax dispute that it says risks damaging the country’s business-friendly reputation.
Panama has demanded that the Canadian group pay corporate tax of at least $375mn a year along with a profit-based mineral royalty of 12-16 per cent, a steep rise on the $61mn FQM paid to Panama on a project that raked in $1.4bn of gross profit in 2021.
The Canadian group’s chief executive Tristan Pascall said it would put its flagship project, responsible for 1.4 per cent of global copper supply, into “care and maintenance” if the country did not offer certain legal protections.