Almaden Minerals Secures Ixtaca Project's Injunction

The Canada-based silver company Almaden Minerals announced it obtained a provisional injunction from the Mexican Federal Administrative Court (TFJA) relating to the submission issued by the Ministry of Economy (SE) to the Second District Court of Puebla, which oversees the Supreme Court’s (SCJN) request for an indigenous consultation prior to granting the mineral titles that sustain Almaden’s Ixtaca project. 

On Feb. 22, 2023, Almaden Minerals reported that SE filed a case with the Court in Puebla to deny two mineral title applications made by the company in 2002 and 2008, which led to mineral titles that sustain Almaden’s Ixtaca project being granted in 2003 and 2009, respectively. The titles, however, were reduced to their application status due to the SCJN’s decision in early 2022.  

According to the company, the origin of the problem goes back to when a third party used the mineral claims that cover the Ixtaca project to sue the Mexican government on the basis that the Mining Law was unconstitutional. However, in February 2022, SCJN ruled against this notion but admitted that SE should have conducted an indigenous consultation process before issuing Almaden Minerals’ mineral titles in 2003 and 2009. SCJN also provided additional information regarding the procedures required to conduct an appropriate Indigenous consultation. SCJN stressed that the company’s claim applications were made following the legal framework at the time and that Almaden Minerals’ rights were safeguarded while the authorities conducted the proper Indigenous consultations. 

In July 2022, SE notified the company that its mineral titles were ineffective, which the company interpreted as meaning they had reverted to the application status. However, this entailed that the company still held the concession but was not allowed to carry out exploration activities until SE conducted a proper Indigenous consultation. Subsequently, Almaden Minerals stated that SE further argued that the applications from 2002 and 2009 had technical mistakes, which posed an obstacle to granting mineral claims. 

The company believed that SE was seeking to avoid the necessity of granting these concessions before conducting the Indigenous consultation ordered by SCJN. Almaden highlighted that SE submitted a legal instrument to do so before Puebla’s Court, which accepted the submission on Apr. 13, 2023. This is currently being appealed by Almaden. 

Meanwhile, Minera Gorrión, Almaden Minerals’ Mexican subsidiary initiated legal proceedings before TFJA, aiming to contest SE’s submission. TFJA accepted the legal proceedings and granted a provisional injunction in favor of the company, which prevents SE from releasing the mineral rights covered by the company's mineral title applications while the legal proceedings are ongoing. 

According to Almaden Minerals, TFJA is expected to make a decision regarding granting a permanent injunction in the coming weeks. The injunction, if granted, will be effective until it rules on the revocation of SE’s submission. “We filed this complaint with the TFJA back in 

March (2023) and, despite the long delay, we are encouraged that we may finally have the opportunity to explain why we believe SE’s submission is a seriously flawed document,” said Duane Poliquin, Chair, Almaden Minerals.