Lack of laws holding back mining consultations in Mexico

Plans to establish consultations with indigenous communities over future mining projects are being held back by the lack of a relevant law, according to the head of Mexico’s geological service (SGM).

Mexico’s government, under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), has pledged to introduce community consultations for mining projects, including in indigenous communities.

The rights of indigenous groups to a prior say over mining and other projects on their lands are enshrined in the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) convention 169, to which Mexico is a signatory.

But progress is being held up on several fronts, Flor de María Harp, head of the SGM, told the Mexico Mining Forum event.

“Yesterday we were speaking with the mining ministry that before giving out a concession we intend to consult if there is an indigenous community in the area of the requested concession. Unfortunately, there are no specific legal parameters to realize these consultations at the moment in our country,” she said.

“Some trials have been done but as new concessions are not being approved, these trials have not advanced sufficiently.”

Registers of indigenous communities have not been completed in every state, and a bill outlining the consultations has not been developed, according to Harp.

“We are going step by step in this area because there is a lot of uncertainty,” she added.

The situation regarding consultations has caused concerns within the industry.

“What are [indigenous consultations]? Nobody knows,” David Jones, geologist and president and founder of Minera Zalamera said earlier in the forum.

“There are no regulations, there is no law. If they say you have to do one, what do you do?”