Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals has placed its Cobre Panama operation into care-and-maintenance, after the Healthy Ministry of Panama (Minsa) this week ordered the temporary suspension of labour activities at the site.
The order follows the death of a worker as a result of Covid-19 related complications. Minsa confirmed in a tweet at the weekend that an employee of Minera Panama – First Quantum’s subsidiary – died on Saturday.
The mining company said on March 24 that several of the contractor workforce at Cobre Panama had contracted the virus.