Resumen

TELLEZ RAMIREZ, Isidro  y  MORALES RAMIREZ, María Josefina. Industrias Peñoles and the Monopoly of Mining Concessions in Mexico. Invest. Geog [online]. 2023, n.110, e60636.  Epub 26-Jun-2023. ISSN 2448-7279.  https://doi.org/10.14350/rig.60636.

This article explains the main causes, dynamics, and effects of the expansion of the concession area granted to mining companies in Mexico. To this end, the company Industrias Peñoles was used as a case study, limiting the period of analysis from 1982 to 2018. The selection of this mining corporation was not fortuitous. With more than a century of history, it deviates from the generalizations and types of cases addressed by the specialized literature: foreign-capital companies, especially Canadian ones, which own open-pit operations and mining projects that have caused risks or adverse environmental effects and social conflicts. By contrast, Industrias Peñoles is a Mexican company that, despite having records of serious environmental impacts, is the world’s largest producer of silver, one of the largest producers of bismuth, zinc, and lead, and the second-largest producer of gold in Mexico. These features provide an interesting perspective to consider, at the company level, the economic and territorial factors that define the layout and dynamics of mining concessions. In addition to reviewing the sources, we followed three methodological approaches: 1) identification of the concessions granted to the 14 mining corporations that were among the 500 most important companies in Mexico in 2018; 2) identification and review of the concessions granted to Industrias Peñoles and its subsidiary Fresnillo plc.; 3) analysis of the titles issued to this company in the municipality of Fresnillo through the compilation of 100 files. Key data are represented through tables, graphs, and maps.

Three main results are described: a) Industrias Peñoles is the second top company concentrating the largest concession area in Mexico, with a total of 3.1 million hectares distributed across 22 states; b) 77% of the mining concessions were obtained in the period 2001-2012; c) the municipality of Fresnillo manages seven out of every ten hectares under concession. It is highlighted that, along with financial speculation, the monopoly over large areas of the subsoil is one of the main causes of the territorial expansion of mining concessions because they represent a geographic barrier based on the uniqueness of the location and a temporal barrier supported in the centennial validity allowed by the current mining law. Altogether, both barriers represent a territorial strategy that creates or protects monopoly power, making it possible to appropriate a differential income. It is pointed out that the recording of the subsoil and the privatization of the soil has resulted in reduced remuneration to the public accounts; in addition, it has transformed the land in terms of its use and landscape, which has led to social conflict. It is concluded that, in addition to yielding huge profits, the monopolization of mining land enables the very existence of rentier mining capital.

The above information is presented in the following sequence. First, the methodological approaches used for obtaining and conducting the spatial data analysis are detailed. Second, the main legislative changes directly affecting mining concessions are outlined. The following sections highlight the key findings, starting with the spatial evolution of the mining titles at the national level and those granted to the main mining companies. Then, the temporal and spatial dynamics of the area granted to Industrias Peñoles are reviewed by six-year term and state, emphasizing the grabbing of titles. Finally, the factors explaining the expansion are discussed by analyzing the evolution of mining concessions in Fresnillo, a municipality where the company controls the world’s largest silver deposit. The conclusions are then outlined, mentioning the constraints of the research; additionally, some recommendations are made based on the findings.

Palabras llave : mining concession; precious metals; monopoly; geographical barriers; temporary barriers.

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