The accelerated ramp-up of the new Cobre Panama copper mine in the central American country has brought the start of its commercial production forward by several months to before the end of the third quarter, according to owner First Quantum Minerals.
The company had previously expected to begin commercial production at the mine in Panama, which is the industry's only major greenfield project and which shipped its first copper concentrate in June, by the end of the fourth quarter.Achieving the accelerated ramp-up was expected to increase the total project capital by a little more than 6%...