Bolivia’s & Panama’s Mining Prospects Are Both Hot International Issues Right Now
This story was originally published in Areas & Producers
Everyone who is following global mining projects or Latin America issues has probably been hearing a lot about Bolivia and Panama this week. They both made the headlines for mining news, though in very different ways.
I will provide all of the relevant deatils about these stories below. But I would also like to point your attention to how Latin American countries are getting investors’ attention in the global commodities markets for other reasons, too.
Have a look at the issues in this previous edition of [World Spotlight]. It includes information about Brazil, Argentina, Guyana and Panama.
Panama Protesters Break In To Puntan Rincón International Port
First up, Panama. This one has been brewing for some time now, and it has gotten progessively worse with time, erupting into this latest news story.
In a major escalaton of the protest movement about a copper mine in Panama, protesters reportedly staged a break in at the Puntan Rincón International Port used by First Quantum Minerals for shipping copper concentrate.
The details of the break in reveal a sophisticated plan using a speedboat to arrive at the port. Read the full details about it in the link above.
The protests have been going on for around two weeks, since President Laurentino Cortizo has been very active in the negotiations over the copper mine. Cortizo has even proposed to make a bill that would schedule a referendum, including the Panamanian citizens in the final decision, by December 2023.
The activists are protesting against the The Mina de Cobre copper mine, operated by Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals, which is considered to be the largest copper mine in Central America.
This has mainly become a political issue for Panama, as opposing sides of the argument for this copper mine take their positions.
Moreover, legal issues surrounding the labor rights and environmental protection statuses of the mine have come into play. First Quantum Minerals continues to push back against all of those allegations.
Indigenous groups are coming out in opposition as global mining projects are being planned by miners and governments to spur economic activity and commit to Net-Zero Emissions 2050 during what has been called a new era for Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) and global mining projects.
These trends are part of the much larger geopolitical trends that have been kickstarted by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The global pandemic has caused several countries to unravel, with socio-political instability that was building up for decades, and causing the global economy to be shaken up with uncertainties, putting the world’s largest companies in some of the most vulnerable areas.
All of these trends should give us a broader understanding of what’s happening in geopolitics and the global economy after the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether or not we can overcome our pre-conceived ideas about energy and commodities is going to be a key problem facing the world’s population after the global pandemic.
Canadian Miner Eloro Resources Completes Massive Mining Project In Bolivia
Don’t let the negative news story about Panama fool you into thinking that global mining projects are approaching doomsday scenarios, as Bolivia is fully welcoming foreign investors into the metals mining sector right now.
This week, it was announced in a press release on 1 November 2023 that “Eloro Resources Announces Completion of Metallurgical Holes and Updates Progress on Definition Drill Program to Expand Higher Grade Mineral Resource for PEA at Iska Iska Project, Potosi Department, Southwestern Bolivia.”
It is an extensive announcement, laying out all of the details about this company’s completion process at the Iska Iska polymettalic mining complex located in Bolivia.
The results of this mining project are significant to the metals mining sector, but also to the overall economic growth of this Latin American country. The main mineral deposits include silver, zinc, lead and tin.
CEO of Eloro Resources Tom Larsen noted that the technical results from the preliminary economic assessment were fruitful:
“This new drilling program will be an important part of our PEA which commenced with a site visit by the PEA team in late September…Definition drilling is in progress to expand the shallow higher-grade mineral resource which has the potential to provide an early payback in the PEA.”
Read more about the technical details of this mining project in the press release provided in the link above.
Bolivia forms part of the Lithium Triangle, with Argentina and Chile, in Latin America’s premier region for future global mining projects. Bolivia has had a formidible mining industry dating back to the Spanish colonial era.
Resource World has provided an update on Bolivia’s present-day mining industry by covering various aspects of investments from China, Russia and Eloro Resources Ltd’s Iska Iska project.
According to the update on the Iska Iska project, Eloro Resources has carried out extensive drilling activities in Bolivia ever since it made discoveries in the country’s South Mineral Belt, including a preliminary economic assessment (PEA).
CEO of Eloro Resources Tom Larsen stated that the PEA will now come into full focus for this mining project:
“We are delighted to commence the PEA study on Iska Iska just 3 years after we began our initial exploration drill program. This is another major step in moving the development of Iska Iska forward.”
To know more about the global mining projects, check out some of the latest issues from mining news stories in Areas & Producers below:
- Argentina’s lithium production for electric vehicles
- BHP Group’s issues with unions at a Chilean copper mine
I cover all of the global mining projects in the publication Areas & Producers. If you want to know about a specific mining project, or about a problem facing mining’s future in a particular area, send me a note Monroe 4PEACE and we can talk about covering it in the publication.