Abstract

GONZALEZ-SANCHEZ, Francisco  and  CAMPRUBI, Antoni. Small mining in Mexico. Bol. Soc. Geol. Mex [online]. 2010, vol.62, n.1, pp.100-108. ISSN 1405-3322.

In the mining industry of Mexico three types of companies (large, medium, and small) have been traditionally typifed with regard to their magnitude, which is defined by their amount of production. However, there is a fourth category below them: artisanal mining. The annual production of small mining in Mexico amounts 6,800 million US dollars, and represents 2.9% of the national mining-metallurgic production and 1.6% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Small mining is intrinsically linked to culture and economical history in Mexico, it is based on both formal and informal employment, and such mining may occasionally be rudimentary and artisanal. Small miners frequently operate beyond the law, thus concealing the real economic and social potential of small mining. Most small mining companies may develop in two different scenarios: (1) with the help of financial support from government agencies, which contribute to possibly successful activities in the future, or (2) without any financial support from the government. In the latter case, companies are usually short-lived and unsuccessful. The growing scarcity of either qualifed or unqualifed laborers in mining industry is leading small mining companies to a higher degree of competitiveness, thus accelerating their mechanization process in order to counteract this scarcity. The recent massive arrival of international mining corporations in Mexico has had a strong impact on small mining and its development, with both positive and negative effects. Notwithstanding those effects, the small mining companies that have endured have done so because they have adapted to and benefted from new regulations provided by the Mexican Mining Law.

Keywords : Small mining; Mexico; Mexican Mining Law; artisanal mining.

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