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Written by Dan Oancea - Updated Sep 2008
Mining Legislation
Under the Mexican constitution, minerals are part of the national patrimony. The exploration, exploitation and beneficiation of the minerals will have preference over any other use for the land. Except for hydrocarbons, radioactive materials and salt, which is formed by evaporation of brines from playas, the law permits up to 100 percent private ownership in equity exploration, development and production of mineral substances.
Exploration concessions are granted for six years and are not renewable. There are no limits for the mining concession surfaces. Production concessions are awarded for 50 years and are renewable for a similar period. The Mexican mining legislation could be accessed on the Ministry of Economy's site. The Mexican offices of the law firm Baker and McKenzie have produced an overview of the legal framework that companies need to consider when obtaining mining concessions in Mexico.
Responsibility for the mining sector belongs to the Secretaría de Economía, while the environmental permitting responsibility resides with the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT).
Institutions
 Professional mining associations of Mexico include the Association of Mining Engineers, Metallurgists and Geologists of Mexico and the Mexican Chamber of Mines (CAMIMEX).
The Mexican Geological Survey (SGM) is continuously improving the geological knowledge of the country, while providing domestic and foreign investors with data necessary for the selection of prospective areas for mineral exploration. At the closing of 2005, the Mexican Geological Survey covered 100 percent of the geological-mining and geo-chemical cartography at a scale of 1:250,000. Only 20 percent of the Mexican surface was at a scale of 1:50,000. Aeromagnetic data has been collected over 96.5 percent of the territory.
Economics
 Mexico has a free market economy and is a signatory of the NAFTA agreement. Trade with Canada and U.S.A. tripled since the agreement was launched back in 1994. However, a recession and consequent devaluation of the peso during the same year still dogs the economy.
Production
Mexico is the world's second largest silver, bismuth and fluorspar producer. In 2006, the country was also ranked as the fifth producer of lead and arsenic; the sixth ranked producer of zinc, cadmium and bentonite; the seventh ranked producer of gypsum and salt; the eighth producer of molybdenum, manganese and kaolin; and the tenth ranked producer of cement. In 2006, mining and metallurgical export production accounted for over US$8.1 billion. Iron represented 30% of exports, followed by copper (16.8%), silver (12.9%), and zinc (11.7%). Three states accounted for 50% of the value of nonfuel mineral production: Sonora (24%), Zacatecas (13%), and Chihuahua (13%). The states of Durango, Coahuila and San Luis Potosi were also major producers.
While things have changed, the 2006 [English] Report on the Mexican Mining Industry provides a valuable industry overview. Subsequent reports are available only in Spanish.
Companies
Mexico has benefited from considerable foreign investment into its mining industry. Some of the worlds largest mining companies have operations there including Newmont Mining Corp which operates the La Herradura mine in Sonora state. There are also a number of Mexican national mining companies active in the industry. Two of the largest are listed below:
- Grupo Mexico, the biggest mining corporation in Mexico, is the world's third-largest copper producer; it also ranked on the second place for molybdenum production and at the same time it was the world's fourth largest producer of silver and eight largest producer of zinc. It has operations in Sonora, San Luis Potosi and Chihuahua. It has majority ownership interest in Minera Mexico (MM) and the Southern Copper Corporation (SCC).
- Industrias Penoles, S.A. de C.V. was the world's largest producer of refined silver in 2007, and also the largest producer of metallic bismuth and sodium sulfate. It runs large operations in Sonora, Chihuahua, Guanajuato, Zacatecas and Guerrero. It is a conglomerate of more than 50 companies and employs 10,000 people.
 There are also over 200 foreign publicly traded companies involved in exploration and mining activities in Mexico, the majority of which are North American based. There are also a number of private companies operating exploration or development properties.
Modern exploration techniques have recently been applied to Mexico by foreign explorers. A hefty pipeline of precious and base metal projects is now unlocked.
Mining and exploration operations taking place in Mexico require a large number of mining suppliers and consultants, a list of which could be accessed on Infomine’s site.
Employment
Mining and metallurgical activities continued to be an important component of the Mexican job market. The recent spike in metal prices boosted the employment in provinces historically plagued by high rates of unemployment.
After years of decline, the number of people employed by the mining industry increased to 278,998 workers in 2006. For a list of current employment opportunities please visit Careermine
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