López Obrador Seeks to Implement Stricter Safety Regulations
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López Obrador Seeks to Implement Stricter Safety Regulations

Photo by:   Gobierno de México
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Paloma Duran By Paloma Duran | Journalist and Industry Analyst - Wed, 09/14/2022 - 11:16

President López Obrador said that following a recent accident at a coal mine in Sabinas, Coahuila, it is evident that the mining sector has not sufficiently strived to improve the safety of its operations. Consequently, he will impose stricter regulations to ward off further accidents. For its part, mining chamber CAMIMEX, which represents around 90 percent of the mining sector’s value creators in the country, asserted that the industry has significantly reduced its death and injury rates by improving its operating standards and technologies.

López Obrador announced that he will likely impose new reforms to the mining code, including stricter rules. The president even suggested he would tighten the current restrictions, which involve a halt in the granting of concessions, until the safety of all workers can be guaranteed:  “We are going to have to create a proposal so that no more concessions are granted and that mining exploitation for the granted concessions will become more regulated. I know that the mining sector already has safety regulation, but this is not working. We will make it stricter to avoid the accidents that happen every year.”

In addition, the Ministry of Economy announced that the General Directorate of Mines suspended 10 mining concessions until the owners can prove that all the measures dictated during the inspections of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (STPS) have been implemented. The Ministry stressed that its objective is to guarantee the safety of mining operations and carry out investigations to hold those responsible for accidents accountable.

The Mexican mining sector has worked hard to mitigate risks and prevent accidents by applying more rigorous standards and procedures. These allow mines to be productive without neglecting their personnel, CAMIMEX said in its 2022 report. In addition, the chamber highlighted that most mining accidents in Mexico, such as the one in Sabinas, are caused by non-member companies.

In 2021, CAMIMEX members reported an incidence rate of 1.01 accidents per 100 workers, which shows a reduction of 18.5 percent against 2019’s records. The incidence rate in the sector is below the national average, which is 1.43. CAMIMEX-affiliated companies also invested MX$2.515 billion (US$126.63 million) to improve operational safety in 2020, which is 68 percent more than the amount invested in 2019.

Are Mining Accidents Common in Mexico?

In the past decade, Mexico has experienced more than 270 mining-related accidents, in which 270 mining workers died and 108 others sustained injuries. In recent years, the number of accidents has decreased significantly, from an average of 36 per year in 2015 to only two in 2022 due to the efforts of the sector to improve operations.

Experts assured that although the mining sector has improved regarding safety, as losses of human life dropped to an all-time low, there are still areas of opportunity; Mining remains one of the industries with the highest fatality rates. “We have a big gap to narrow in Mexico. There are certain limitations that put Mexico behind other countries. However, we are on the right path toward technology, automation and data science, which is crucial. Technology must be applied to increase production while protecting employees’ safety,” said Adrián Márquez, Director, VMX Mine Pro Mexico, at Mexico Mining Forum 2022.

Photo by:   Gobierno de México

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