Navarro Calls For The Export Of The 7,960 Tons Of Ammonium Nitrate In The Mine 'It Must Be Removed As Soon As Possible'

(MENAFN- Newsroom Panama) Following an inspection at the Cobre Panamá mine this weekend, Environment Minister Juan Carlos Navarro (pictured above) confirmed that there are 7,960 tons of ammonium nitrate in one of the deposits. The minister said that this is an explosive material that must be immediately exported and removed from Panama for the sake of the environment and the country's security.“It must be removed as soon as possible,” he said on his X account. He recommended that such exports be carried out in the presence of the media, so that they are carried out with“total transparency.”

Navarro recalled that a few years ago, in a port in Lebanon, where“there was one sixth of the amount of ammonium nitrate that there is here, there was a massive explosion.” At least 220 people died in that explosion and more than 6,500 were injured. The minister, who was accompanied by the head of Public Security, Frank Ábrego, said that the product stored in the mine belongs to the specialized company Austin Powder. The mine, which was operated by Minera Panamá, is located in the district of Donoso, province of Colón, and has been closed since November 2023 as a result of a ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice that declared the contract unconstitutional.

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