Le Cuivre

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Prospect de cuivre au Chili : Buen Retiro

Fitzroy builds case for near-term Chile copper mine

Colin McClelland | July 24, 2026

Fitzroy Minerals (TSXV: FTZ)(US-OTC: FTZFF) has extended broad, shallow copper mineralization along the Tenorita trend at its Buen Retiro project in Chile as it advances towards an initial resource and prefeasibility study before production in 2028.


Highlights include hole BRT-DDH072, which cut 111.9 metres grading 0.97% copper from 21.1 metres depth, including 18 metres at 1.59% copper from 84 metres, Fitzroy said on Thursday. Hole BRT-DDH070 returned 147.7 metres grading 0.41% copper from 26.3 metres, including 47 metres at 0.88% copper from 113 metres.

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https://www.mining.com/fitzroy-builds-c ... pper-mine/

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Et si la mine de cuivre de Cobre Panama re-ouvrait ?

Panama weighs creation of state-owned miner to pave way for Cobre Panama re-opening

Reuters | July 22, 2026

Panama is considering creating a state-owned mining firm to partner ‌with Canada’s First Quantum on the re-opening of the shuttered flagship Cobre Panama copper mine, two people familiar with the development told Reuters.

The mine, one of the world’s largest, was shut down in 2023 after Panama’s Supreme Court ruled First Quantum’s 20-year-old mining contract was unconstitutional, amid widespread opposition on environmental and governance grounds.

That wiped out 4.5% of Panama’s GDP, IMF data showed, as well as more than 1% ​of global copper production and 40% of First Quantum’s revenues. Shares of First Quantum were down 1.6% on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Panama’s President Jose Mulino was elected in 2024 ​after intense public unrest over the mine. During his inaugural speech after being elected, Mulino pledged to finalize the mine shutdown after an ⁠environmental audit. “We must respect the laws, the Supreme Court ruling, and the demands of our people…” Mulino said in July 2024. Adding that the plan to open “in order to ​close definitively, safely and positively for our country will depend on the result of that environmental study.”

Two years later, facing unemployment around 10% and with copper prices near record levels, ​reopening may look more attractive.

The government has allowed the company to sell the last copper concentrate mined before the closure, restart its power plant inside the mine, and conclude an environmental audit that gave the mine a compliance score of 88%.

“It is clear that the government wants to open the mine with First Quantum,” said a person who had advised the government about the mine in the past. “But it still ​fears social unrest.”

First Quantum declined to comment. Panama’s Commerce Minister’s office did not respond to email and phone queries by Reuters.

Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research ​note on Wednesday said regaining operational control of the Cobre Panama mine, which was once the biggest mine for First Quantum, would be transformational for the company.

Different proposals under consideration

The possibility of a ‌public-private partnership between ⁠a Panama-owned entity and First Quantum, giving the miner operational control of the facility, is one of a few proposals under consideration, the sources said.

Under a partnership scenario, First Quantum would have a 60% to 65% stake in the mine, with 35% to 40% owned by Panama, one of the sources said, who did not wish to be quoted as they are not authorized to speak to the media.

First Quantum would receive a higher share because of investments the company made in the mine, one of the sources said.

A revival of ​the mine would help First Quantum get ​on the road to debt recovery, as ⁠well as bringing in new sources of copper to the market that is fundamentally in short supply.

A state-owned entity could be a workaround for a Panamanian law passed in 2023 that bans new mining concessions.

The law is ambiguous regarding concessions granted to a state-owned ​entity, said one person familiar with Panama’s legal framework, adding that there is an option under Panamanian law for a state entity ​to be created for ⁠public-private partnerships.

The underlying mining concession would be owned by Panama.

Leasing option on the table

Public-private ventures are becoming a common practice in resource-rich countries that want higher control over the resources and also get social license for mining projects, with Chile and Zambia, among others, adopting such models.

A further option being weighed is leasing the mine to First Quantum, with the government receiving ⁠a royalty payment ​and collecting tax from revenue earned. It is not clear which of the options the government might choose.

In ​July, Panama’s Commerce and Industry Minister Julio Molto said the government would take its decision by the end of this year, and that Panama will have “complete sovereignty” over the mine issue.

Meanwhile First Quantum has suspended an arbitration that ​it had launched against Panama over the mine, where it was seeking compensation worth $20 billion from the country.

https://www.mining.com/web/panama-weigh ... e-opening/

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Cuivre : la production du canadien First Quantum progresse en Zambie à mi-2026

Agence Ecofin 29 juillet 2026

En Zambie, First Quantum Minerals s’impose comme le principal contributeur du secteur cuprifère en termes de production. Ses mines de Kansanshi et Sentinel ont livré à elles seules 370 000 tonnes de cuivre en 2025, soit 41 % des 890 346 tonnes produites à l’échelle nationale.

En Zambie, First Quantum Minerals a produit un total de 184 929 tonnes de cuivre au premier semestre 2026, contre 176 116 tonnes à la même période un an plus tôt. Ce résultat issu du cumul des données opérationnelles publiées mardi 28 juillet par le groupe canadien, s’accompagne du maintien des objectifs de production fixés pour l’ensemble de l’exercice sur ses différentes mines exploitées dans le pays.

Cette progression repose sur les performances de Kansanshi et de Sentinel, les deux actifs cuprifères du groupe en Zambie. À Kansanshi, les volumes ont atteint 89 342 tonnes entre janvier et juin, selon les calculs de l’Agence Ecofin, contre 86 647 tonnes un an plus tôt. La mine de Sentinel s’est également inscrite dans une dynamique haussière, avec une production de 95 587 tonnes, contre 89 469 tonnes au premier semestre 2025.

Dans ce contexte, First Quantum Minerals maintient ses prévisions annuelles allant jusqu’à 205 000 tonnes pour Kansanshi et de 220 000 tonnes pour Sentinel. Si elles sont atteintes, ces cibles porteraient la production zambienne du groupe au-delà des 370 000 tonnes enregistrées en 2025. Pour le reste de l’année, la compagnie prévoit une augmentation continue du débit des usines ainsi que l’amélioration les taux de récupération du minerai sur les deux sites. À Sentinel, une hausse des teneurs est également attendue au second semestre.

La réalisation de ces objectifs revêt une importance particulière pour First Quantum Minerals, dont les opérations zambiennes constituent le principal moteur de son portefeuille d’actifs de cuivre. Elle le sera tout autant pour la Zambie, qui ambitionne de franchir le seuil du million de tonnes produites dès 2026. En 2025, le pays avait livré 890 346 tonnes de cuivre, dont 41 % provenaient des seules mines de First Quantum.

https://www.agenceecofin.com/actualites ... -a-mi-2026

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Update almost triples contained metal at Selkirk Copper’s Minto mine

Blair McBride | July 30, 2026

A resource update for Selkirk Copper Mines’ (TSXV: SCMI; US-OTC: SKRKF) Minto project in Yukon more than doubles contained red metal as the First Nation-owned company prepares to release a feasibility study and eventually restart the mine. Shares rose.


The update outlines 47.8 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 0.89% copper, 0.34 gram gold per tonne and 3.2 grams silver for 940 million lb. copper, 530,000 oz. gold and about 4.8 million oz. silver, Selkirk reported Thursday.

Compared with last year’s estimate, contained measured and indicated copper increased 181%, gold 183% and silver 192%, although copper grades declined by roughly one quarter as additional lower-grade tonnes were incorporated into the resource. Minto is about 240 km northwest of Whitehorse.

The measured and indicated increases through Selkirk’s stage one drilling program “demonstrates the significant potential to grow mineable resources within the Minto mine property in a cost-effective and timely manner,” Selkrik CEO M. Colin Joudrie said in a release.
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https://www.mining.com/update-almost-tr ... into-mine/

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suite de ce post du 26 juillet 2026 : viewtopic.php?p=2425821#p2425821

First Quantum adds 1,000 jobs as Cobre Panama restart nears

Staff Writer | July 29, 2026 |

First Quantum Minerals has stepped up preparations to restart its Cobre Panama mine by beginning stockpile processing ahead of schedule and adding about 1,000 jobs.

The Canadian miner said formal negotiations with Panama over the future of one of the world’s largest copper mines are drawing closer.

First Quantum commissioned the first of three milling circuits in May, producing its first 3,216 tonnes of copper concentrate from stockpiled ore during the quarter. About 2.1 million tonnes of ore were processed, while the mine’s estimated 38-million-tonne stockpile contains about 70,000 tonnes of recoverable copper, enough to sustain roughly 12 months of processing at current rates.

The company maintained 2026 guidance of 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes of copper from stockpile processing.

“We are encouraged by the progress achieved during the quarter, notably the release of the final audit report and the formation of the inter-institutional ministerial committee to review its findings,” CEO Tristan Pascall said in the second quarter report.

“We remain ready to engage constructively with the Government of Panama to achieve a fair and durable resolution that serves the best interests of the country and its people as well as our stakeholders.”

The developments suggest momentum continues to build toward reopening Cobre Panama after nearly two years of inactivity.


Reports indicate Panama is weighing several partnership structures, including a state-owned mining company that would jointly operate the mine with First Quantum or an arrangement in which the company retains a 60% to 65% stake while the government holds the balance. Another proposal would see the government lease the operation back to First Quantum in exchange for royalties and tax revenue.

Hiring boost

The restart has also translated into a growing workforce as preparations for renewed operations continue.

Direct site employment climbed to about 3,000 by the end of June from roughly 2,350 in early April to support commissioning, maintenance and operations. Pascall told analysts on the company’s conference call the increase represents about 1,000 jobs overall, including returning employees and new hires.

The expansion follows the launch of the company’s Suma tu Talento recruitment campaign, with more than half of new employees coming from communities surrounding the mine and 17% of hires being women.

Road ahead

Cobre Panama has remained idle since late 2023, when Panama’s Supreme Court ruled First Quantum’s 20-year mining contract unconstitutional following widespread environmental and governance protests. The shutdown erased about 4.5% of Panama’s GDP, according to IMF data, removed more than 1% of global copper supply and eliminated about 40% of First Quantum’s revenue.

Since taking office in 2024, President José Raúl Mulino’s administration has authorized sales of stockpiled concentrate, restarted the mine’s power plant and completed an environmental audit that found the operation was 87.7% compliant with its environmental commitments. First Quantum has also suspended its $20 billion arbitration claim against Panama while discussions over the mine’s future continue.

https://www.mining.com/first-quantum-ad ... art-nears/