(Recasts with modifications made to legislative proposal, addsbackground) By Valentine Hilaire and Elida Moreno Nov 2 (Reuters) - Lawmakers in Panama scratchedprovisions from a proposed bill that would cancel a recentlyapproved mining concession extending the life of a controversialbut lucrative copper mine by at least two decades, legislatorstold Reuters on Thursday. The fate of the Cobre Panama mine, which accounts for 1%of global copper output and is operated by a local unit ofCanadian miner First Quantum , has been roiled by streetprotesters opposed to the project over the past couple weeks.
Two independent lawmakers, Edison Broce and Juan DiegoVasquez, told Reuters that the proposed legislation will notinclude annulment of the concession.
The bill now focuses on enshrining into law anindefinite nationwide ban on all new mining concessions, whichgoes further than a similarly focused decree
ordered last Friday by President Laurentino Cortizo.
Protesters have expressed concerns over
the contract signed by the government and the company late last month, arguingit is tainted by corruption and too favorable to the Canadianminer, as well as harmful to the environment.
The fight over the future of the mine has caused sharesof First Quantum to
shed nearly half their value in recent days.
Under the terms of the renewed contract, the miner wouldpay a minimum of $375 million annually to the government inreturn for two decades of continued operations with the optionto extend them another 20 years.
Last Sunday, Cortizo
called for a referendum to give the public a say on the contract's future, butlawmakers are still debating legislation that would authorizethe vote.
The Supreme Court is considering several challenges tothe contract, and may ultimately decide its legal validity.
But if lawmakers reverse course and seek to end thecontract via legislation, that could open the door tointernational arbitration, according to legal experts. (Reporting by Valentine Hilaire; Additional reporting by ElidaMoreno and Divya Rajagopal; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle)
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