Cases / Mining · Panama · 2023
SGS audit gives Cobre Panamá mine 88% compliance; environmental groups object
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
An audit by SGS reported 88% compliance at the Cobre Panamá mine, which has been closed since a 2023 Supreme Court ruling. Environmental groups object to the result.
What?
An SGS audit reported 88% compliance at the Cobre Panamá mine; environmental groups object. Ámbito
Where?
Cobre Panamá mine, Panama Ámbito
When?
Closed since the Supreme Court ruling of November 2023; reopening talks and a stockpile permit reported in 2026. Ámbito
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
None on recordHarmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
An SGS audit; a commission proposed talks with First Quantum on reopening. Ámbito
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who
What happened
The record, in order.
The mine has been closed since a Supreme Court ruling in November 2023, according to Ámbito and Reporte Minero.
SGS, a testing, inspection and certification company, audited the mine and reported 88% compliance; environmental groups objected to the result.
A commission proposed talks with First Quantum on reopening, and a permit to process 38 million tonnes of stockpile was granted.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record The sources reviewed do not say what SGS was paid for the audit or when it was carried out.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not say whether or when the mine will restart.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Cobre Panamá reopening reportÁmbito · 2026-10-02
- Cobre Panamá reopening reportReporte Minero · 2026-07
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
- Cobre Panamá mine closure Panama · 2023–2026
- SGS (Company) — here: Auditor that reported 88% compliance; there: Auditor of the mine
- First Quantum (Company) — here: Company named in proposed reopening talks; there: Mine operator