Mexico mining investments revised upwards

Mexico's mining industry chamber Camimex announced an upward revision in forecast investment for 2019.

According to its annual report released on Wednesday, the chamber now sees investments in the local mining sector hitting US$5.34bn this year, up 9.1% from 2018.

The investment figure compares to a previous forecast of US$2.60bn announced in mid-May. At the time, the chamber said the drop would be driven by uncertainty over government policy.

Meanwhile, the adjusted forecast means that expected investments from the chamber's affiliates will reach some US$26.4bn for the 2019-24 period, representing 90.7% of all investments expected for the whole mining sector in the country – including affiliates and non-affiliates, Camimex said.

"In terms of direct investment, the mining sector invested US$4.90bn in 2018, which was an increase of 13.8% compared to what was invested in 2017. But the figure is still far from the US$8.43bn that was invested in 2012, reflecting concern and caution to invest in mining in Mexico," chamber president Fernando Alanís said in the report.

"However, the sector continues to be one of the productive sectors that attract the greatest investment to the country," Alanís added.

STRATEGIC VALUE

In the report, Alanís urges the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) to continue believing in the local mining industry's strategic value for Mexico.

"[We want] a public policy to promote the use of the geological wealth of our country and to generate confidence among investors, recognizing and solving the challenges that the mining sector has."

According to Camimex, Mexico's extractive industry was the largest taxpayer last year, raising some 46.2bn pesos (US$2.41bn), up 30% year-on-year.

Mexico ranked fifth in attraction of mining investments last year, after Peru (4th) and ahead of Chile (6th), Camimex said in the report, citing figures from S&P Global Markets.