Dear clients and friends,
The Mexican federal government announced the revocation of 1,126 mining concessions nationwide, recovering 889,500 hectares of mineral rights. This enforcement initiative represents a continuation of the mining sector reorganization policy commenced under the administration of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and sustained under President Claudia Sheinbaum. The announcement was delivered by Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, with operational details presented by José Fernando Aboitiz Saro, Head of the Extractive Activities Coordination Unit within the Ministry of Economy.
The state of Chihuahua experienced the revocation of 134 mining concessions, affecting over 34,000 hectares, positioning it among the jurisdictions with the highest concentration of cancelled titles, together with Sonora, Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas, and Jalisco. The principal grounds for revocation comprised: (i) non-payment of mining duties for two consecutive fiscal years, (ii) failure to submit mandatory technical reports, and (iii) absence of documented exploration activities—all statutory requirements through which concession holders must demonstrate active operations on their mineral properties.
At the national level, 713 of the revoked concessions—representing 250,000 hectares—were situated within federally protected natural areas. According to official data, approximately 90% of the cancelled titles were held by parties engaged in speculative holding without productive or exploratory operations, while the remaining 10% pertained to major mining corporations. The recovered mineral rights are predominantly concentrated in Sonora, Durango, Coahuila, and Chihuahua.
Aboitiz Saro emphasized that concessions maintained without reported activities typically constitute speculative holdings that generate no economic value for the nation, thereby warranting revocation pursuant to applicable legal provisions. He further noted that while the majority of cancellations resulted from administrative enforcement proceedings, certain voluntary relinquishments were negotiated with mining companies, though such cases constitute a minority of the overall total.
This announcement follows closely upon Mexico’s execution of a Strategic Minerals Action Plan with the United States. As previously analyzed, the bilateral framework contemplates the identification of critical minerals of mutual strategic interest and consideration of border-adjusted minimum pricing mechanisms for mineral imports, all against the backdrop of the forthcoming USMCA review.
For Mexico’s mining sector—which currently maintains over 22,000 active concessions and, according to industry sources, generates economic activity approaching 260 billion pesos while supporting in excess of three million direct and indirect employment positions—this enforcement campaign represents a material shift in mining title administration.
Concession holders must ensure rigorous compliance with all statutory obligations: timely remittance of mining duties, punctual submission of technical and statistical reports, and demonstrable evidence of productive or exploratory activity on their mineral properties. Non-compliance with these requirements for two consecutive years constitutes statutory grounds for title revocation.
Should you have any questions or comments regarding the foregoing, please do not hesitate to call your usual contact with the Firm.
Mining
Pablo Méndez Alvídrez / pablo.mendez@ecrubio.com
Alejandro Guerra Herrera / alejandro.guerra@ecrubio.com
Jorge Alberto Hernández Ogaz / jorge.hernandez@ecrubio.com
Kevin Daniel Rico Motis / daniel.rico@ecrubio.com
Jesús Martín Miranda Barraza / martin.miranda@ecrubio.com