Panama’s Environment Ministry has begun remediation around the abandoned El Remance mine in Veraguas after an earthquake-triggered landslide raised concerns about nearby water sources.
The ministry announced the work on October 23, outlining sanitation improvements, containment measures and a separate proposal for community water-treatment systems.
El Remance lies in the district of San Francisco. MiAmbiente says the mine was abandoned 27 years ago without a formal closure process and has identified microbiological problems in untreated water and metal contamination in soil.
The first phase addresses elevated faecal-coliform levels in raw water. It includes individual toilets and septic tanks for earthquake-affected homes in La Gorda, under a contract worth approximately $37,931. The ministry estimates about 50 working days for execution.
A second phase will address containment and remediation of the landslide area. Ingeniería Estrella was scheduled to enter the site on October 24 to collect information and determine the necessary work.
Separately, MiAmbiente is reviewing a $780,000 proposal for four modular water-treatment systems serving La Gorda, Mesillas and Pato Alto. That installation remains under assessment.
Downstream, the national water utility, IDAAN, has reinforced monitoring at the San Francisco and Santiago treatment plants. Sediment from the landslide entered Quebrada Veneno, a tributary of the Santa María River upstream of their water intakes.
According to an IDAAN statement reported by TVN, testing of treated water remains within the regulatory limits for the parameters evaluated. The utility says it has not identified conditions compromising treatment and has added activated carbon as a precaution.
Those findings concern the treated supply. They do not resolve the separate contamination and remediation issues around the abandoned mine, where technical monitoring continues.
Sources: MiAmbiente, TVN
