Hundreds of mining projects in Mexico have been delayed because the government is understaffed.

Hundreds of mining projects in Mexico have been delayed due to stringent environmental reviews and slow procedures, which could have a long-term impact on global supplies of silver, gold, copper and other minerals.

Mining companies complain of record delays in government approval

As one of the world's top 10 mineral producers, Mexico's mining industry is worth tens of billions of dollars, accounting for about 8 per cent of its total GDP. Mexico is the world's largest producer of silver, accounting for nearly 1/4 of the world's total output; at the same time, Mexico is also one of the top 10 producers of gold, copper, zinc and other metals.

But at present, Mexico's mining industry is being hit by regulatory problems.

Mining company executives complain that drastic budget cuts after President Obrador (Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador) came to power have led to massive layoffs of Mexican environment ministry staff responsible for mining regulatory compliance and record delays in the approval of mining projects, undermining the competitiveness of the local mining industry.

They also warned that mining companies could shift new investments to other more attractive countries.

In addition, the Mexican government seems to be unfriendly to mining companies, especially foreign mining companies.

In May, Mexican Environment Minister Maria Luisa Alberis (Maria Luisa Albores) said Mexico had banned open-pit mining on the orders of President Obrador. Mr Obrador has previously criticised some foreign miners for trying to evade taxes.

Senior Mexican official: need for strict scrutiny of open-pit mines

Recently, however, Tonatiu Herrera (Tonatiuh Herrera), Mexico's deputy minister of the environment, changed the wording, saying that open-pit mining projects have not been banned. He explained that because of the "huge" impact of the open-pit mine on local communities, especially water resources, it would be assessed on a case-by-case basis. "We need to conduct a rigorous environmental assessment," he explained. "

He also admitted that last year, due to the impact of the epidemic, there was indeed a backlog of mine environmental assessment work, but the Ministry of Environmental Protection never stopped approving permits.

Herrera believes that mining companies' complaints may be because they have become accustomed to the low regulatory environment under previous governments. He also stressed that the current government has recently approved the (MIA), of environmental impact reports for many mining projects, but he declined to give details.

Hundreds of mining projects have been delayed

The El Arco open-pit project, owned by (Grupo Mexico), one of Mexico's largest miners, is anxiously awaiting government approval. The project, worth nearly $3 billion, was scheduled to start production in 2028 and is expected to produce 190000 tons of copper.

Meanwhile, 18 large mining projects in Mexico have been delayed without government approval, involving an investment of nearly $2.8 billion, according to Camimex, a Mexican industry association.

According to a report by Mexico's Ministry of Environment in June, more than 500 mining projects in Mexico have been stopped and are awaiting review, while figures from Mexico's Ministry of economy show that more than 750 mining projects have been "postponed". The latter data may also include projects that mining companies have voluntarily suspended.