PANAMA CITY, Dec 19 (Reuters) - More than 100,000 metric

tons of copper stuck at the closed First Quantum mine in

Panama do not currently pose an environmental risk, Panama's

president Jose Raul Mulino said on Thursday.

The mine, one of the world's top sources of copper, was shut

down in November after Panama's Supreme Court declared Canadian

First Quantum's contract with the country unconstitutional, a

move that followed environmental protests.

Since then, commodities markets have been watching to see

what decision Panama's government takes on whether it will allow

the export of the 130,000 tons of copper concentrate left behind

after the mine's closure.

Mulino said environmental authorities visited the site a

little over a month ago and concluded that the stocked copper

was environmentally safe for the moment. Environmentalists as

well as mining companies had raised concerns over risks from

leaving the copper on site.

"I asked Minister (Juan Carlos) Navarro to conduct that

investigation, and he says there is no environmental threat

right now," Mulino said at his weekly press conference.

He added that the government plans to decide in January

whether First Quantum's proposed maintenance plan for the mine,

known as Cobre Panama, can move forward.

First Quantum did not immediately respond to a request for

comment.

A plan for removing the copper must address payment for the

metal, as well as an ongoing protest against the mine by fishing

boats that are blocking the mine's pier, Mulino said.

"If it has to be taken out, it has to be taken out, but

there also has to be payment to us, Panama, because it is our

material extracted under a concession that no longer exists,"

Mulino said.

"All those things will eventually be part of the

comprehensive review of the problem," he said.

Cobre Panama, when operational, accounted for 40% of First

Quantum's revenue and nearly 5% of Panama's GDP.