The country is the world's largest producer of silver and is ranked among the top 12 countries in terms of production of other 17 types of minerals.
In 2010, the industry generated total revenues of $25.39 billion, more than double the $11.87 billion in tourism industry produced. The mining industry represents 4.6 percent of Mexico's GPD and for the last six years has been on an aggressive growth trend, despite the global economic downturn. Furthermore, a total of over 26,000 mining licences were granted since 2006, and employs over 300,000 people directly and 1 million indirect jobs.
Key Advantages:
- Mexican legislation encourages investments in the sector. The 1993 Mining Law (Ley Minera) opened up new areas to foreign investment previously limited to Mexican financing. It also removed the requirement for foreign capital investments to be associated with Mexican capital in a proportion of 49-51% respectively.
- Openness to foreign direct investment. Any company from around the world is encouraged to invest in the country.
- Obtaining mining licences are quick. Typically takes between 6-8 months for a licence to be granted as opposed to North America it can take between 5-10 years.
- Labour costs are lower. Labour is 60-80% lower as compared to other South American countries.
- Long history of mining. Mining in Mexico stretches over 500 years, before the Spanish conquest and colonization. One of the main reasons why the workforce in the mining industry is highly skilled.
- Availability of public mining information. Delegated by the Mexican government, the Mexican Geological Survey and Ministry of Economy makes public all information relevant to mining including exploration surveys, historical mining information, suppliers, land ownership and much more.
- Supporting investment. The Ministry of Economy's Mining Promotion Trust (FIFOMI) is another key player. In 2009 it helped capitalize micro, small and medium-sized mining companies as well as the sector's production chain with loans worth 510 million USD, 20% higher than in 2008, in addition to offering training and technical assistance to more than 8,000 companies.
- Canada a key player. Out of more than 738 exploration projects currently carried out by 232 companies, 70% are undertaken with investment coming from other countries: 75% from Canada, 15% from the US and the rest coming from countries such as the UK, Australia and Japan, among others.
Sources: ProMexico, Latin American Herald Tribune, NAFTA, DoingBusinessinMexico.com