Piotr Kulas

A commission convened by Panama’s government to decide how to manage the country’s controversial Cobre Panama copper mine has recommended 25 years of operation but without expanding the site’s physical footprint. The mine, run by First Quantum Minerals, was closed in 2023 after it was ruled unconstitutional following protests against its operation. The report also recommends steadily shrinking the existing footprint over this time, before eight years of “active closure” and 30 years of post-closure monitoring. Other non-negotiable criteria for reopening the site include compliance with existing Supreme Court rulings and laws around the project, ownership by the state, and the project must be financially self-sustaining. The report also calls for data transparency and supervision of the site to international standards, and priority given to concerns among affected Panamanian communities and businesses.

Hakainde Hichilema was declared president-elect of Zambia on 18 August. Hichilema was re-elected after securing nearly 3 million votes, more than 1.1 million votes ahead of his opponent, Brian Mundubile of the NRPUP, and comfortably above the 50% threshold required to avoid a run-off. "The result is expected to deliver policy and geopolitical continuity, including the continuation of the beneficiation agenda set out in Zambia's 2024 critical minerals strategy," said Benchmark's lead policy and geopolitical analyst Bryan Bille. Copper is a crucial export for Zambia, accounting for around three-quarters of the total value of the country’s exports. Mined production in 2026 is estimated at 901kt, a healthy growth of 11% over last year, as assessed by Benchmark’s Copper Service. The Zambian government is aiming to increase output to 3Mtpa by 2031.