Panama - Mining

Panama had a small-to-moderate mineral sector, with known deposits of copper, manganese, iron, asbestos, gold, and silver. Construction materials were a leading industry, and cement, clays, lime, limestone, sand and gravel (3 million tons in 2001), and silver were produced in small operations. Gold mining included small-scale placer operations in Darién Province, along with the newer large-capacity Santa Rosa and Remance mines in Veraguas Province. It was not considered economically feasible to operate the Cerro Colorado copper project, dormant since 1998, because of copper's low price in 2001. Salt, produced by evaporation of seawater at Aguadulce, was a major mineral product; output was 22,500 tons in 2001.