Canada's Inmet Mining (TSX:IMN) reached a milestone after the government of Panama approved the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) for its Cobre Panama copper project.
Granted by the environmental authority of the country, the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (ANAM), the approval of the environmental and social impact assessment includes the mine, mill, surface infrastructure, a port facility and a coal-fired power plant.
In the announcement the Canadian miner said that Korea Panama Mining Corp. (KPMC), a joint venture between Korea Resources Corporation and LS-Nikko Copper Inc., has 30 days to buy 20% of the project from Inmet for about US$155-million.
The Cobre Panama is a large open-pit copper development project, located 120 kilometres west of Panama City and 20 kilometres from the Caribbean Sea coast.
The project is considered crucial to the future of Inmet Mining.