The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that First Quantum Minerals plummeted $6.89 to close in Toronto Wednesday at $38.23 after a government-commissioned study in Panama recommended negotiating a new arrangement that could allow a temporary restart of the Cobre Panama mine to facilitate its orderly closure. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that Panama's Minister of Commerce Julio Motto said: "We have to be very, very clear. An operation of this scale is not closed in a year or five." Mr. Moto is part of the panel that made the recommendations for reopening the mine. The study highlights ongoing disputes over the mine, which contributed 1 per cent of global copper production until the government closed it in 2023 due to local protests over taxes and environmental concerns. Effectively, the commission recommends "establishing the conditions for a restart that enables achieving an orderly closure at no cost to the nation." It also recommends resolving all arbitration claims filed by First Quantum against the government following the mine's closure. Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino said the would carefully analyze the contents of the study before making a firm decision on the future of the mine.