Mexico will reclaim 200 mining concessions currently held by private companies, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Monday at her daily press conference. Following the signing last week of an action plan with the United States to establish “preferential trade” in strategic minerals—essential raw materials for industries such as energy, technology, and national security—which, combined with the reactivation of hydraulic fracturing, appears to signal a shift in Mexico’s extractive policy, the president assured that there will be no changes to Mexican legislation as a result of this agreement. All of this comes as negotiations to renew the North American free trade agreement between the two countries approach.
“First, nothing has been signed; what we are going to do is begin talks. Second, there is talk of sovereignty, which means that the United States conducts research in its country, and we conduct ours in ours. Third, we are not going to change the legislation, and we are very clear that natural resources are not to be handed over, and we are not going to begin a process of opening mines. In fact, we are working to return more than 200 mining concessions to the Mexican State,” said the president, who then dismissed the criticisms from environmental groups regarding the action plan agreement.
Mine in Sabinas (Mexico), December 2022. Miguel Sierra (EFE)
In Mexico, currently, and according to data from the latest Statistical Compendium of Mining prepared by the Ministry of Economy, there are more than 22,000 mining concessions, totaling over 14 million hectares. Sheinbaum has confirmed that the Secretary of Economy, Marcelo Ebrard, will provide information regarding the return of these 200 concessions. According to the latest report from the Mexican Mining Chamber, there are 27 new projects under development, 225 in the exploration phase, and another 225 already in operation. This document highlights that mining companies operating in Mexico have focused their investments in recent years on expanding existing operations.
The United States, seeking to create a trade bloc for strategic minerals that excludes China, hosted the first Ministerial Conference on Critical Minerals in Washington last week. High-ranking officials from some 50 countries attended, announcing agreements or preliminary agreements with 38 nations. The agreement with Mexico was also announced, in which both countries will have two months to determine which minerals should be considered strategic, establish supply chains, and supply these raw materials to industries in both countries. Mexico has significant reserves and operations of a dozen of the 60 minerals that the United States considers strategic for its domestic industry.
The agreement, framed within the principles of energy security and sovereignty, calls for exploring “additional provisions” that include harmonizing “regulatory standards for the mining, processing, or trade of critical minerals, technical and regulatory cooperation, and coordination in geological mapping.” Environmental groups like Cambiémosla Ya (Let’s Change It Now), a coalition of communities, civil organizations, and academics seeking greater restrictions on mining, have criticized this action plan as a return to a policy of expanding the industry.
Source: elpais
