Panama’s Supreme Court declares 20-year contract for Canadian copper mine unconstitutional

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panama’s Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional a 20-year concession for a Canadian copper mine that had sparked weeks of protests. Environmentalists argued the open-pit mine would damage a forested area on Panama’s Atlantic coast. The dispute over the open-pit mine led to some of Panama’s most widespread protests in recent years. The protesters were a broad coalition of Panamanians and feared the mine’s impact on nature and especially on the water supply. There was no immediate comment from Minera Panama, the local subsidiary of Canada’s First Quantum Minerals.