The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday, Jan. 17, edition that First Quantum Minerals will cut spending, pause its dividend and put smaller mines up for sale in a sweeping effort to free up cash after it was ordered to shutter its $10-billion (U.S.) copper operation in Panama. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that on Monday First Quantum said it is considering a range of capital-market options to maintain its financial position and is working with banks to "address and extend" its bank loan facilities. It is also considering selling interests in larger mining assets after receiving expressions of interest from potential investors. First Quantum is reeling from the fallout of Panama President Laurentino Cortizo's abrupt orders to shutter its biggest asset late last year, following a ruling from the Supreme Court that invalidated the mine's operating contract. The closing of Cobre Panama, which accounted for 78 per cent of First Quantum's operating profit in the first nine months of 2023, has wiped out more than half of the miner's market value and cast the company's finances into uncertainty as billions of dollars of its debt mature in the coming years.