News emerged last week in local media that the government is seeking to hike the royalty from 2% to between 12% and 16% on gross profits, stating $375 million as a minimum annual amount it sought from the company.

Panama is also looking to eliminate other financial incentives and tax holidays the Cobre Panama benefits from, although a final agreement has yet to be reached.

Cobre Panama achieved record copper production of 331,000 tonnes in 2021, 125,000t more than in 2020, as the company reported full year production of 816,000t.

Production is due to increase to 330,000-360,000t in 2022 and to 350,000-380,000t in 2023 with a sixth ball mill due to be commissioned in early 2023 to help the operation ramp up from 85 million tonnes per year throughput to 100Mtpy by the end of 2023.

Shares in First Quantum Minerals are trading at C$36.63, valuing the company at $24.6 billion.