- Visitors will have the opportunity to explore key areas such as the Botija pit, the international port, the power plant, and the tailings management facility, among others.
Panama, March 24, 2025 – In a historic milestone for the Latin American mining industry, Cobre Panama has officially launched its Mine Visit Program, granting the public access to the operational core of one of the region’s most modern copper mines.
This innovative, immersive tour, guided by Panamanian engineers and miners, offers a firsthand experience from the Botija pit to the 300 MW power plant, the international port, and the tailings management facility. Each stop showcases how the mine operated before the halt in operations and how current activities are being carried out under the Preservation and Safe Management Plan (PGS).
“This is a true transparency experience. We're showing how modern mining worked from the inside, so Panamanians can see it with their own eyes,” said Maru Galvez, Public Relations Manager at Cobre Panama.
The initiative responds to public interest identified through Cobre Conecta, the company’s open dialogue program. According to surveys, over 58% of Panamanians want to visit the mine to verify the information shared in the media and on social networks. The tour encourages listening, asking questions, and verifying facts directly with Panamanian experts where every question is welcome.
One of the most impressive stops is the Tailings Management Facility, built to international standards, where visitors can witness the real-time water treatment system clearly evidenced by the presence of fish and aquatic life. The tour also includes the power plant, which has the capacity to supply electricity to the entire Azuero Peninsula, and the ecological road within the Mesoamerican corridor. This road features eleven underground and three aerial wildlife crossings, along with a monitoring network that makes it the most wildlife-surveilled road per kilometer in the country.
The tour concludes at the reforestation and progressive rehabilitation area, where the return of native species can already be observed demonstrating that the progressive closure of a mine is indeed possible.
With this historic opening, Cobre Panama reaffirms its commitment to being part of the national dialogue in the search for the best possible solution for all parties. Instead of shutting its doors, the company chooses to show openly and factually how it operated and how it is now preserving the site.