Mexico miners table talks on permit delays, NGO hostility

Mexican mining chamber Camimex is seeking dialogue to resolve permit delays and anti-mining campaigns by NGOs.

Mining companies are being impacted by a slowdown in environmental permitting, chamber president Fernando Alanís said at the launch of the association’s 2021 sustainability report.

The sector is also facing opposition among anti-mining NGOs and academics, Alanís added.

While the chamber president did not give further details of the groups in question, last month the CambiémoslaYa (Let’s change it now) coalition – comprising environmental and social NGOs, academics and community groups – launched a campaign calling on the government to overhaul the 1992 mining law.

A key demand was that mining should lose its preferential treatment over other types of land use, and its status as an activity that is deemed to be in the public interest.

PERMIT DELAYS

“We have seen significant delays in the authorization of MIAs [environmental impact studies], and in permits from [water commission] Conagua, and in various agencies of [environment ministry] Semarnat,” Alanís said.

The Camimex president warned in April that a string of mining projects have stalled as MIAs have been blocked by Semarnat.

At least four projects have been blocked at the environmental permitting stage since President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) came to office in December 2018, according to BNamericas research.

These include Argonaut Gold’s San Antonio and Cerro del Gallo (in picture) gold projects and Almaden Minerals’ Ixtaca asset.

Semarnat minister María Luisa Albores spelled out the government’s stance on mining permitting in May, which includes a tougher approach to open pit projects.

INDUSTRY RESPONSE

In response, Camimex has set up talks with the ministry, including with Tonatiuh Herrera, undersecretary for environmental regulation and promotion, to address the delays.

Further dialogue is planned at the Mexican association of mining engineers’ (AIMMGM) international mining convention in Acapulco in October, Alanís told the sustainability report event.

The focus of the October talks will be partly on what additional steps the industry can take to improve its performance, and perceptions about Mexico’s mining industry.

“Within these talks we hope to discuss this theme of MIAs and Conagua, and in this way we hope to continue advancing in this area,” Alanís said.

ANTI-MINING NGOs

Talks are also planned with NGOs and academics at the October convention, with the aim of finding common ground, Alanís said.

“There are NGOs which have an ideology or principles that are against mining,” the Camimex president said.

“For us, the only thing we want is to sit down together and talk, and understand that dialogue has two components, to listen and be heard.”

SHARED GOALS

Despite opposition to the sector from some NGOs and academics, and the industry’s turbulent relationship with the federal administration, the parties share common aims, Alanís said.

“The mining industry has the same objectives that we all have. President AMLO wants a mining industry that is environmentally responsible.

“So do we, and we have adopted the best practices and standards to achieve this.

“But also there is a need for a mining industry that continues to spur social development in communities. We also want that,” he added.