Panamanian President-elect Laurentino Cortizo said on Tuesday his incoming government would review a mining contract awarded to a subsidiary of Canada's First Quantum Minerals.
While the new government values the security of contracts, "the company has to respect that we have the right as Panamanians to review clause by clause," Cortizo, who takes office on July 1, told reporters.
A spokesman for First Quantum Minerals did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Toronto-based company owns 90 percent of Minera Panama, which was awarded the concession for the Cobre Panama project in 1997, according to First Quantum's website. Environmental problems have kept the mine from operating at peak capacity.
(By Elida Moreno and Julia Love; Editing by Peter Cooney and Grant McCool)