PANAMA CITY, March 20 (Reuters) - Panama's President

Jose Raul Mulino said on Thursday that his government has not

been notified yet by Canada's First Quantum Minerals ( FQVLF )

that the miner has suspended arbitration over its shuttered

copper mine in the country.

An internal memo from the company's local unit, Cobre

Panama, last Friday showed the company had instructed its

lawyers to start work to suspend arbitration against Panama,

referring to cases it filed after the government's 2023 shutdown

of the mine following protests over environmental concerns.

Mulino said the government would not be able to hold

talks with First Quantum until the arbitration suspension was

finalized, but that he believed the miner was taking the proper

legal steps.

"We haven't been notified of that suspension, but in

good faith, I must assume that it's a process ... that takes a

reasonable amount of time," he told a press conference.

"Until we are notified, there will be no formal

conversations."

Mulino added that he will start talks with his team and the

country's mining chamber next week to discuss issues about Cobre

Panama.

Shares in First Quantum were trading down 0.6% at 1501

GMT.