PANAMA — “We have unanimously decided to declare the entire law 406 unconditional,” said the Supreme Court president Maria Eugenia Lopez. After months of endless protest, Central America’s Largest open-pit copper mine has finally closed. How did Panamá get here? There is a complex and politically draining history regarding mining in Panamá. Operated by First Quantum Minerals, a Canadian-owned mining company contracted at the Cobre Panamá Mine had established roots in the Spring of 2013. Establishing itself in the Colon Province, the Canadian 34,000-acre project (bigger than the city of Manhattan) progressed in 2017 and was soon deemed unconstitutional by Panama’s Supreme Court. To uphold this ruling a fresh draft was made and passed through the Panamanian government as Law 406 on October 20th, 2023 marking the final step in revisiting the legal structure for the Cobre Panama Mine.