Peñasquito strike will have significant effect on production – Mexican mining chamber

Four weeks after operations were halted at US company Newmont's Peñasquito gold mine (pictured) in Mexico due to a strike by 2,000 union workers, the Mexican mining chamber (Camimex) warned that the stoppage will have a significant impact on already-weak national mining production.

"The effect on mining production is clearly going to be important because [Minera] Peñasquito is one of the largest mining companies in the country and we hope it will be resolved shortly and in accordance with the law," Camimex president Jaime Gutiérrez said during the presentation of Camimex's annual report.

The suspension of operations at what is Mexico's biggest gold mine in Zacatecas state is expected to weigh on already-soft mining production. Between January and April, national mining production contracted 0.1% year-on-year, according to statistics agency Inegi.

Mexico's mining output dipped 5.3% to 317bn pesos (US$15.8bn) in 2022, with gold production accounting for 30.6% of the total, according to Camimex data based on official figures.

Last week, a labor court in Mexico City declared that the strike, which began on June 7, was legal.

The union alleges that the company has failed to make agreed payments and has not complied with the collective agreement signed in June 2022, although both the union and the company have declared that they are open to dialogue.

Gutiérrez said that Camimex has been monitoring the union action, and reiterated that the legislation must be respected, while advocating for greater legal certainty.

Denver-based Newmont is the world's largest gold producer.  

Grupo México

Grupo México's San Martín lead, zinc and copper mine, also in Zacatecas state, is also host to a labor dispute that led the US to ask Mexico to review possible violations of workers' rights under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

The conglomerate said in a statement last month that San Martín continues to operate based on the free choice of the majority of the employees because the strike that kept the mine closed for more than a decade was lifted after a workers' assembly in 2018. The mine is managed by its subsidiary Industrial Minera México.

"We know that our members fully comply with current regulations and we believe that as long as everyone, including the authorities, adheres to them, there should be no conflicts or concerns of this nature," said Karen Flores, executive director of Camimex.

"Whenever there is willingness to comply with the law, it should be enforced ... without involving political issues," added Gutiérrez.