Cobre Panama is moving towards the use of renewable energies and the reduction of emissions in its processes.

– Cobre Panama uses high-tech electric equipment such as trucks, shovel excavators and drills
– It is expected that by 2025, 30% of the energy used in its operations will come from renewable sources

Panama, July 13, 2023 – Cobre Panama participated in the Forum “New energies, mobility and environment”, organized by Capital Financiero.

Katiuska Hernandez, Cobre Panama’s environmental compliance specialist, shared the presentation “Transition to Electromobility and Environmental Management at Cobre Panama”.

During his presentation Hernández highlighted the different initiatives through which the mining company reduces emissions and contributes to environmental sustainability through technology, such as the use of 38 hybrid DTU T284 trucks, 5 electric shovel excavators, 13 electric drills, and the 800 m “Trolley” line 1 and 2, which is a system that allows the trucks that transport the rock to connect to overhead power lines and achieve significant fuel savings.

He also indicated that Cobre Panamá, in its firm commitment to climate change mitigation, signed an agreement with AES in 2022 for the use of renewable energy (64 MW), starting in January 2024. The agreement establishes that the energy supplied by the power generation company to the copper mine will be renewable energy -certified- from solar, wind and hydroelectric sources.

Actions such as this help to make the copper concentrate production process more sustainable, responding to the global trend towards a greener economy driven by the use of 100% renewable energy, for which copper is fundamental.

He also mentioned other initiatives that contribute to reducing emissions, such as the use of conveyor belts from the pit to the processing plant and the transport of copper concentrate through 30 kilometers of pipelines to the port for export.

Other actions that demonstrate Cobre Panamá’s commitment to caring for the environment are the permanent monitoring of water sources, the use of rainwater for its processes, and the fact that 78% of that water is reused. The company also uses accredited external laboratories to evaluate water quality against the regulations applicable to the project and has a periodic schedule of external audits whose reports are submitted every six months to the Ministry of the Environment and the sectoral environmental units. It also rescues flora and fauna and carries out ecological restoration, with more than 20,000 m2 of restored areas in 3 years of operations.

In the process of reducing carbon emissions in Cobre Panama, it is expected that by 2025, 30% of the energy used in its operations will come from renewable sources. For its part, the First Quantum Minerals group, parent company of

Cobre Panama, plans to reduce its carbon emissions in its global operations by 50% by 2030.

It is important to note that copper is one of the most important minerals for its electrical and thermal conductivity, making it key for wiring, generators, motors, solar heating, heat exchangers and renewable energy solutions.