Federal Court Rejects Amparo From Ganfeng Lithium Subsidiary

The federal court has rejected an amparo filed by Minera Sonora Borax (MSB), a subsidiary of Bacanora Lithium owned by the Chinese company Ganfeng Lithium. The company sought the amparo from the Eleventh District Court in Hermosillo to reverse the cancellation of its mining concession initiated by the Ministry of Economy’s (SE) General Mining Directorate in September 2023.

According to case number 1496/2023 filed with the Eleventh District Court, the company requested the amparo on Sept. 26, 2023, the same day the cancellation of Ganfeng Lithium's concessions was announced. MSB requested federal protection to continue operating its mining concession in the Sierra region of Sonora and to prevent the cancellation decision from being registered in the Public Mining Registry or reported to the Directorate of Cartography and Mining Concessions until the cancellation becomes final.

However, the District Court rejected the request, prompting Minera Sonora Borax to seek a review from the Second Collegiate Court, which was conducted under case number 353/2023, reported el Sol de Hermosillo. The request was filed on Oct. 5, 2023, and was assigned to Manuel María Morteo Reyes, President Magistrate of the Second Collegiate Court in Penal and Administrative Matters, also based in Hermosillo.

The judges of the Second Collegiate Court considered that granting the requested suspension to the company was not appropriate, as it would force the authority to perform an action that it had refused to do, which is only permissible through the amparo sentence.

Minera Sonora Borax SA de CV is a subsidiary, 99% owned by Bacanora Lithium, and is part of the Sonora Lithium Project with possession of the La Ventana and La Ventana 1 concessions. Currently, the company's only other major asset is the Magdalena borate project, wholly owned by Bacanora, covering an area of 16,503ha. The company holds ownership of the concessions through three subsidiaries: Minera Sonora Borax S.A. de C.V. (MSB); Mexilit S.A. de C.V., a joint venture with Rare Earth Minerals (REM); and Megalit S.A. de C.V., also a joint venture with REM.