Inclusive, Responsible and Sustainable Mining in Panama

PROJECT STATUS Completed 

PROJECT DELIVERABLES

• Capacity support and training:

-GBA Plus in Mining Workshop 

-Fiscal Optimization and Environmental Management and Mine Closure Training 

-Technical Visit to Canada  

PROJECT RESULTS 

• Improved capacity of the MICI/DNRM to develop inclusive, gender-sensitive, and sustainable mining laws, policies, and enforcement. 

LESSONS LEARNED 

• Sequencing the technical assistance and training was crucial for effective implementation. Therefore, we offered GBA Plus Analysis and Environmental Management (Audit) trainings before the Technical Visit to Canada. This approach allowed participants to gain foundational knowledge and theoretical concepts before witnessing them in action during meetings with government officials and visits to an operating mine. 

TOTAL PROJECT REACH

• 86 participants (directly) reached through activities conducted and project deliverables 
• 33 Canadians reached through public engagement activities 

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

• CEs organized informative sessions for students from University of Calgary (ERGP) and Saint Mary’s University (Sustainable)
• Canadian Embassy in Panama produced a video on the TAP initiative
• As part of the technical visit to Canada, the following organizations hosted the MICI delegation: Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation (EMLCI) Offices of British Columbia, Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC), Geoscience BC (GBC), Copper Mountain Mine. 

 The Technical Assistance Partnership (TAP) initiative with two of Canada’s leading experts in mineral resource, policy, sustainability, and governance, Deborah Archibald and Pablo Quinonez, are working collaboratively with designated officials of the Government of Panama’s Ministerio De Comercio E Industrias (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) to support the development of gender-sensitive and environmentally sustainable mining policies.  

Panama’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry has made the modernization of the mining sector one of the country’s top economic priorities. This initiative aims to strengthen individual human resources and the institutional capacity of the Ministry’s National Mining Directorate to effectively implement the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals, and Sustainable Development’s 2020 recommendations. These recommendations include socio-economic benefits, environmental management, legal and policy framework, and optimization of fiscal benefits.

 The work will offer advice, tools, and practices and proactively train and engage Panama’s next generation of mining policymakers and engineers.