The lower house of the Mexican parliament has approved a plan to move forward with reforms to the country's mining laws.
The proposed changes involve reducing the length of mining concessions, imposing stricter regulations on water permits, and returning some profits to the state.
According to the president of Mexico's mining chamber, the proposed changes to the country's mining laws could result in a loss of up to $9 billion in investment and up to 420,000 jobs in the mining industry in the coming years.
Mexico is a leading producer of silver, copper, and gold globally. However, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who assumed office in late 2018, has refused to grant new mining concessions. The President believes that previous administrations have granted too many concessions, and thus, there is no need for any new ones.
Last year, President Lopez Obrador pushed for the nationalization of Mexico's emerging lithium industry, giving preference to a newly established state-owned producer to extract the valuable battery metal. This decision is expected to further discourage investors' interest in the mining sector, according to analysts.
As per the proposed reforms, mining companies will have to return a minimum of 10% of their profits to local communities and make their operations' impact public.
