PANAMA CITY, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Panama President Jose

Mulino will only take a decision regarding the future of the

Cobre Panama mine after he resolves the issue of the country's

social security policy, a supplier of the Cobre Panama mine said

after a meeting with the Panamanian president.

Abel Oliveros was among a group of suppliers who met with

Mulino this week to seek a resolution after public protests led

to the closure of the mine.

The office of the president did not immediately respond to a

request for comment.

Canadian miner First Quantum's Cobre Panama mine,

once the biggest and newest copper mine in the world, has been

closed since 2023 after environmental protests and a court

ruling pushed the government to order a closure.

The government has yet to decide the future of the mine even

after the company filed an arbitration seeking damages of at

least $30 billion. First Quantum has said the arbitration is its

last option and it would prefer to resolve the dispute and find

a way to reopen the mine again.

But before a decision on the mine is taken, the government

has to approve the preservation and safety management plan that

would allow First Quantum to export 120,000 tons of copper

concentrate that is stuck in the mine.

The release of that copper could have an impact on the

global price of copper.

When Mulino took charge in 2024, he said his top agenda

would be to pass the social security reform and he would make a

decision regarding the mine in the first quarter of 2025.

The reform needs to go through three rounds of debate in the

Panamanian assembly, and so far only one round of debate has

taken place.

"The Social Security Fund is something he wants to get out

of, and after solving that, he will bring up the issue of the

mine," Oliver said. "There is still no route to say how they are

going to do things, but that's what he told us,"

On Tuesday, a senior executive of Cobre Panama told Reuters

that the company was ready to share the royalties from the sale

of copper concentrate with the Panama government.

Panama will celebrate a week-long carnival next week where

most official work comes to a halt.

(Reporting by Elida Moreno and Divya Rajagopal in Panama City;

Editing by Lincoln Feast.)