The parliamentary committee in Mexico approved the bill that prohibits open-pit mining, sparking reactions from the mining industry, which warns of significant economic damage and job losses, pending final approval by Congress.
Legislation to ban open-pit mining in Mexico was passed out of committee last week and the Chamber of Deputies will take up the bill when Congress is back in session in September.
The measure is part of a comprehensive package of constitutional reforms submitted to Congress in February by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. In Mexico, constitutional reforms must be approved by a two-thirds vote in both the Chamber and the Senate, as well as by the majority of state congresses. Lopez Obrador has made it clear that he disapproves of the mining contracts his predecessors approved for private interests — his administration has not granted any new concessions since he took office in 2018.
The proposal has been met with criticism from the mining sector.
The Mexican Mining Chamber (Camimex) claims the reforms would cause a 1% contraction in Mexico’s GDP and threaten some 200,000 jobs.
This legislation “would have devastating consequences for development and economic stability,” Camimex said in a statement. “It would limit the capacity to transform the country’s natural resources into development opportunities and slow the transition to clean energy.”
Camimex says 60% of the value of Mexico’s mining sector comes from open-pit mining.
For its part, the Association of Mining Engineers, Metallurgists and Geologists (AIMMGM) insists the ban would put Mexico’s mining sovereignty at risk and could make national industries dependent on imports. It also cautioned that such a law could prompt a recession in regions of the country that depend on mining.
Source: mexiconewsdaily.com
