A specialized company will soon be hired to calculate what percentage of this concentrate belongs to Panama and what corresponds to the mining company.

Panamanian Environment Minister Juan Carlos Navarro has warned of the risk posed by the copper concentrate stored at Minera Cobre Panamá to the country's security.

According to Navarro, this material must be transported as soon as possible to avoid possible negative consequences.

"The copper concentrate that is there has to be exported. This is a danger for Panama. The material that has already been extracted and has not yet been processed is a danger for Panama (...) when it oxidizes, due to contact with the air and the high humidity in Panama, it generates gases and leachates, which are very harmful to the environment. The same occurs with the material that has already been extracted and processed. And apart from that, there are problems with slopes, exposed areas, there are problems with leachate tanks, which in the middle of the rainy season, are obviously a danger," said the authority.

The minister also clarified that the copper concentrate, which is worth millions of dollars on the world market, will be determined by law depending on the date on which it was extracted.

"Once we reach an agreement, we have to take it out and take it abroad, where it can even be monetized. Part of that material will be from the mine. The attorney general has said that the material that has already been extracted or part of it is from the mine. Part of that material is from Panama, depending on when it was extracted," added the head of the Environment Ministry.

The minister also explained that, although copper concentrate has a high value on the international market, its legal ownership will be determined according to the date of its extraction, in accordance with current laws.

In this regard, Navarro said that a specialized company will soon be hired to calculate what percentage of this concentrate belongs to Panama and what corresponds to the mining company.

"We will hire a specialized firm to tell us a little about this. For example, a technical report on who owns what, to do everything with the greatest possible transparency and to be able to get the material that has already been processed and also the material that has been extracted out of Panama as soon as possible," Navarro said.