opinion

Cerro Colorado: a tool for Ngabe development?
by Jadran

History of Cerro Colorado

In Panama there is a famous copper deposit called Cerro Colorado, which is located approximately 30 kilometers north of the town of San Felix and is located in the geographic centre of the Comarca Ngabe-Bugle. This project has had a long history since its discovery more than 70 years ago and a number of companies (Canadian Javelin, Texas Gulf, Rio Tinto and Tiomin Resources) have worked to advance this project into production.

The main reason the project was never developed in the early 1980s and 1990s was due to low copper prices. The last company to work in the concession area was Tiomin Resources (via its Panamanian subsidiary Panacobre) and they stopped work in the late 1990s due to low copper prices. Once Panacobre stopped working, the concession returned back to the control of the government of Panama and now rests in the hands of the state company CODEMIN.

Creation of the comarca and Law 10

In 1997, there was also another significant event that occurred --- the Ngabe-Bugle people finally received their comarca --- which is similar to that of Indian reservations in Canada and the United States. The comarca is over 650,000 hectares in size and has a population of approximately 150,000 Ngabe-Bugle people. In total there are well over 200,000 Ngabe-Bugle people living in and out of the comarca. Those who reside outside of the comarca typically do so as there is little to no employment in the comarca.

In addition to having their own territory the Ngabe-Bugle people they were also granted a special law that allows them to a certain degree of autonomy in the governance of their affairs. This special law is called Law 10 and it is a very important law for the people. It states in their law that the highest legal authority in the comarca is the Traditional Congress and that the caciques (chiefs) are tasked with implementing the directives of the congress.

Natural resources are also mentioned in Law 10 and under Article 48 of the Law the Ngabe-Bugle people have the right to participate and to be consulted on any natural resource developments in the comarca. This is an important aspect of the Law as it determines that the Ngabe-Bugle people have to be included in any and all natural resource developments within the comarca. This aspect of the law is also critical for the economic and social development of the Ngabe people as it allows them to develop their natural resources in partnership with companies for the benefit of local communities and the comarca.

Jadran

There is a large group of people who live in the comarca called Jadran that was formed less than one year ago to represent the rights of the Ngabe people who live and reside within the Cerro Colorado project area. This group has been building their understanding and knowledge about responsible mining and how they could use Cerro Colorado as a tool for their development.

Jadran has learned that Cerro Colorado contains 33 billion pounds of copper, that the project will generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs and pay millions of dollars per year in taxes once the project is in production. They also know that the concession (the right to develop the project) is in the hands of a state-owned company called CODEMIN. CODEMIN was created under the administration of Omar Torrijos and was the entity that was supposed to develop the project in the 1970s and 1980s.

Jadran at this time is calling upon the government of Panama to return 50 percent of the Cerro Colorado concession to the Ngabe-Bugle people. Jadran knows that the concession of Cerro Colorado is very valuable --- worth millions of dollars and presently this group is requesting that their rights to the project be respected and that they receive 50 percent of the concession. The plan of Jadran is to use the proceeds of the sale of the concession for the social, cultural and economic development of the Ngabe-Bugle people living in their region and throughout the comarca.

For over 40 years the mine has not been developed and poverty in the comarca has flourished. What will the development of Cerro Colorado bring to the region?

• Billions of dollars worth of new investment to the most economically depressed region of Panama

• 60 to 70 years of jobs with good wages in the mine

• Millions of dollars in training for mine workers

• Improvements to roads and infrastructure

• Electricity to communities

• Economic Independence for the Ngabe-Bugle

• A new source of long term revenues for communities --- via royalties

• Creation of sustainable industries such as hydro power as a legacy

Jadran is aware that poverty is the real evil in the comarca and the result of generational poverty has taken a heavy toll on the well being of the comarca.

The goal of Jadran is to secure ownership of the Cerro Colorado concession in order to reduce poverty and create real economic and social opportunities for the people of their region through the responsible development of the Cerro Colorado project. The only large scale economic and social opportunity for the comarca is through the development of natural resources For every one mining job that is created, there are 6 in-direct jobs created --- this translates into thousands of new jobs and economic opportunities for the Ngabe people. No other project in the Comarca can provide this many opportunities.

Jadran says to those who oppose the development of Cerro Colorado this very simple question: If not the mine, then what?

Red Dog Mine: an indigenous success story in mining

Red Dog is one of the world's largest open-pit zinc mines in the world and this mine was developed in partnership between the Indigenous peoples of Alaska, the government

and a Canadian company called Teck Corporation. This project has become the cornerstone of regional development and as a result of this partnership the Indigenous peoples have a company called NANA Corp --- which is the world's largest Indigenous company with nearly 9000 employees. Every year NANA pays a dividend to its Indigenous shareholders and it is the largest employer of Indigenous peoples in Alaska.

For the Iñupiaq people of Alaska, the Red Dog mine is more than just a mine developing essential minerals; it is a mechanism for hope and catalyst for the northwest Alaska and statewide economy.

For more than two decades, the Red Dog Mine, one of the world's largest zinc mines, has stood as a model of responsible resource development, founded on the principles of consensus, cooperation, and mutual respect between a mining company and indigenous people.

The mine was developed in 1982 under an innovative operating agreement between NANA, a Native corporation owned by the Iñupiat people of northwest Alaska, and Teck Alaska, Inc. (Teck), a US subsidiary of Teck Resources Limited, a diversified mining and metals company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. NANA owns the land on which Red Dog Mine is situated, and NANA shareholders receive direct and meaningful benefits from development at the mine.

For more information about the Red Dog Mine please see the NANA website at: http://www.nana.com/regional

Socially inclusive and responsible mining is possible when the government, the community and company have a sincere desire to make things work for the benefit of all stakeholders. Jadran is very interested in training people in the Chiriqui region about the benefits of socially inclusive and responsible mining. If you and your group are interested to know more about how you can help Jadran and the Ngabe people of the Comarca Ngabe-Bugle or wish to become more informed about socially inclusive mining in Panama please contact Hector Lopez, Secretary of Jadran at: asojadran@gmail.com