Changes in laws related to the mining industry have blocked private investments of around $4.5 billion in the sector and the potential ban on open pit mining would block another $3.9 billion of investment. In addition to the impact on the $8.4 billion in investments, it will also impact employment, said the Mexican Chamber of Mining (Camimex).
So far, legislative changes have prevented the approval of 220 environmental permits for the mining industry by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), said the CEO of Camimex, Karen Flores, in an interview with the newspaper El Economista.
This has blocked investments of $4.5 billion and impacted the generation of at least 50,000 new jobs. It stands out that mining jobs have a salary 33 percent higher than the national average. Although in the case of metallurgical mining, the salary of miners is up to 85 percent higher than the national average salary.
According to the chamber, in recent years mining exploration decreased 50 percent in Mexico. If this trend continues, “the future of mining would be compromised,” Flores said.
Another concern is the proposal to prohibit open pit mining. Last February, the President of the Republic, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) said that he presented several initiatives to Congress, including the ban on open pit mining.
Banning open pit mining would slow down $3.9 billion in investment. In this scenario, Camimex will seek to work with the next government of Mexico. On June 2, there will be elections in Mexico to elect the new president who will remain in office until 2030.