Countries › Panama › Guide › 12. Sectors › Metal mining in Panama: the indefinite moratorium of Ley 407 de 2023, the Cobre Panamá ruling and what is still allowed

Metal mining in Panama: the indefinite moratorium of Ley 407 de 2023, the Cobre Panamá ruling and what is still allowed

Last verified: 2026-10-29 · Status: Changing

Since 4 November 2023 no new concessions for exploring, extracting, transporting or processing metallic minerals can be granted, pending applications were rejected and no existing metal concession can be renewed or extended. The Supreme Court struck down the Cobre Panamá contract law (Ley 406 de 2023) on 27 November 2023; the mine is under a State ordered preservation plan, and in April 2026 the Ministry of Commerce ordered the stockpiled ore processed and exported to cut environmental risk. A September 2026 interministerial report recommends negotiating a self financed closure model that is neither a contract law nor a concession; non metallic quarrying continues under the mining code.

Panama's currency, the balboa (B/.), is at par with the US dollar, which circulates as legal tender; the Superintendencia de Bancos states that the balboa's value is on a par with the US dollar (checked 29 October 2026). USD figures therefore equal the balboa figures.

Key facts

New metal mining concessions can be granted	No yes/noLey 407 de 2023 arts. 1 and 2, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Metal mining moratorium in force since	2023-11-04 dateLey 407 de 2023 art. 5, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Existing metal concessions can be renewed or extended	No yes/noLey 407 de 2023 art. 4, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Ley 406 de 2023 (Cobre Panamá contract)	Declared unconstitutional 27 November 2023 textCSJ ruling of 27 November 2023, as of 2026-10-29 · repealed

The rule

1. Subsoil wealth belongs to the State and may be exploited by State or mixed companies or through concessions or contracts as the law provides; mines, quarries and deposits of every kind cannot be privately appropriated. Concessions to exploit the soil, subsoil and forests must be inspired by social welfare and the public interest.Constitución Política de la República de Panamá (texto único, Gaceta Oficial 25176), arts. 257 numerals 5 and 6, and 259, 2004-11-15 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. Indefinite moratorium: the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MICI) cannot grant concessions for exploration, extraction, transport or processing (beneficio) of metallic minerals anywhere in Panama and must reject outright any new application from promulgation of the law.Ley 407 de 3 de noviembre de 2023, arts. 1 and 2, 2023-11-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: New since 3 November 2023: indefinite moratorium on metal mining concessions, in force from the day after promulgation (art. 5).

3. All metal mining concession applications pending on promulgation were rejected, with MICI to archive the files within three months, and no metal mining concession may be renewed or extended from that date.Ley 407 de 2023, arts. 3 and 4, 2023-11-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. The Plenary of the Supreme Court declared Ley 406 de 20 de octubre de 2023, which approved the concession contract between the State and Minera Panamá, S.A. for copper, unconstitutional on 27 November 2023; constitutional rulings are final, binding and not retroactive. MICI records this in the recitals of its 2026 resolution on the mine.Sentencia del Pleno de la Corte Suprema de Justicia de 27 de noviembre de 2023, as recited in MICI Resolución 27 de 2026 (Gaceta Oficial 30498), recitals, 2023-11-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. The Cabinet instructed MICI and the Ministry of Environment to take the administrative measures needed, under the mining code and environmental law, for Minera Panamá to guarantee the physical and chemical stability of the site through a Preservation and Safe Management (care and maintenance) Plan; MICI approved that plan by Resolución 45 de 30 de mayo de 2025.Resolución de Gabinete 19 de 27 de febrero de 2024 (Gaceta Oficial 29978); MICI Resolución 45 de 2025, as recited in MICI Resolución 27 de 2026, Resolución de Gabinete 19; MICI Resolución 45 art. 3, 2024-02-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. In April 2026 MICI ordered Minera Panamá to process, export and sell the low and medium grade stockpile and blasted ore in the Botija pit and the crushed ore at the plant, to mitigate acid rock drainage risk, without prejudice to paying the State the corresponding royalties. New exploration or exploitation, drilling and blasting and new pits remain prohibited, and the order expressly does not restart the project.MICI Resolución 27 de 2026, published in Gaceta Oficial 30498 of 7 April 2026, articles first to fourth, 2026-04-07 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: April 2026: processing and export of stockpiled ore ordered under the preservation plan; no restart of mining.

7. The mining code (Decreto Ley 23 de 22 de agosto de 1963) requires measures to remove dangerous conditions from mining operations, and its art. 115 says no mining operation may be closed or abandoned until those measures are met; Decreto Ejecutivo 5 de 1 de abril de 2026 regulates art. 115.Código de Recursos Minerales (Decreto Ley 23 de 1963) arts. 113 to 119; Decreto Ejecutivo 5 de 2026, as cited in MICI Resolución 27 de 2026, arts. 113 to 119, 2026-04-01 official text · verified 2026-10-29

8. The interministerial commission's final report of 30 September 2026 recommends that the President authorise formal, non binding negotiations with Cobre Panamá and First Quantum for an agreement that settles the pending international arbitrations and allows an operation leading to an orderly closure at no cost to the Nation, and that the instrument take the form of neither a contract law nor a mining concession, given the Ley 407 moratorium; the structure would be authorised by Cabinet resolution.Informe Final de la Comisión Interministerial, sitio minero Cobre Panamá (Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas), sections 2 and 14, 2026-09-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: 30 September 2026: final report recommends negotiations and a self financed management and closure model; a recommendation only.

9. Non metallic minerals (for example quarry stone) are outside Ley 407: MICI's Dirección Nacional de Recursos Minerales keeps issuing eligibility resolutions under the mining code and Ley 109 de 1973, as amended by Ley 32 de 1996, such as a 2026 resolution declaring a company eligible to act as technical and financial subcontractor in a quarry concession. Eligibility alone grants no extraction right.Código de Recursos Minerales arts. 111 and 172; Ley 109 de 8 de octubre de 1973 art. 9 as amended by Ley 32 de 1996 art. 10 (MICI eligibility resolution published in Gaceta Oficial 30498), resolution articles first and fourth, 2026-04-07 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Date	Instrument	Effect
20 Oct 2023	Ley 406 de 2023	Approved the Minera Panamá concession contract
3 Nov 2023	Ley 407 de 2023	Indefinite moratorium on metal mining concessions
27 Nov 2023	Supreme Court ruling	Ley 406 declared unconstitutional
27 Feb 2024	Resolución de Gabinete 19	Preservation and safe management plan ordered
30 May 2025	MICI Resolución 45	Preservation plan approved
Apr 2026	MICI Resolución 27 (GO 30498)	Stockpile processing and export ordered; no restart
30 Sep 2026	Interministerial commission report	Recommends negotiation; no contract law, no concession

Status of the Cobre Panamá site, official steps 2023 to 2026.

Worked example

A junior explorer that filed a gold exploration application in 2022 saw it rejected by law on promulgation of Ley 407; refiling is barred while the moratorium lasts.
A quarry operator supplying aggregates for a B/.20,000,000 (US$20,000,000) road project can still apply to MICI under the mining code, because Ley 407 covers metallic minerals only.

Step by step

Confirm whether the mineral is metallic; if so, no new concession, renewal or extension is possible under Ley 407.
For non metallic minerals, apply to MICI's Dirección Nacional de Recursos Minerales for eligibility, then for the concession contract, and obtain the environmental approvals.
Investors in the Cobre Panamá supply chain should track Cabinet resolutions and MICI orders in the Gaceta Oficial, since the commission's model would be adopted by Cabinet resolution and contracts.

Common traps

Ley 407 has no sunset date: the moratorium is indefinite until another law changes it.
Processing stockpiled ore under MICI Resolución 27 de 2026 is a precautionary measure; the resolution states that it creates no right to restart exploration, extraction or sale of metallic minerals beyond what it lists.
The commission report is a recommendation, not law; it rules out a third contract law and a concession, so any deal would follow a different legal form.
Royalties remain payable on concentrate exported under the preservation plan.

Sources

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