Mexico to Develop Pilot Program on Sustainable Mining

The UN selected Mexico to develop a pilot program on sustainable mining. The Mexican government and the UN will evaluate how mining projects apply different strategies toward the UN’s established sustainable development goals (SDG). 
Mexico is the only Latin American country that participates in the pilot program, after competing with regional leading mining countries like Colombia, Brazil and Peru. Even though other countries also feature important mining projects, Mexico was selected because of its diversity of energy sources (geothermal, wind, hydroelectric and solar) and because of its mineral deposits being the world’s largest silver producer for 13 years. 
On Oct. 3, 2022, MBN reported that the Ministry of Economy (SE) and the UN’s International Center of Excellence on Sustainable Resource Management (ICE-SRM) signed an agreement to monitor and identify sustainable-minded practices among mining companies. The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) decided to open an ICE-SRM office in Mexico, the only one in the Americas, due to its closeness to the US and Canada, as well as its leading position in the Latin American region. There are another two offices in China and Russia and UNECE is evaluating locations for its Middle East and Africa offices. 
Almost 20 days after the signing of the agreement with ICE-SRM, this effort has materialized and both entities revealed that they selected three mining projects in different stages of development as part of the UN’s SDG-oriented program. The three selected projects are gold and silver-focused and the companies behind them are headquartered in Canada. These projects are Almaden Minerals’ Tuligtic project, located in Puebla and still in its initial stage; Argonaut Gold’s La Colorada project, located in Sonora and currently under development, and Starcore’s San Martin project, located in Queretaro and near to conclude its lifespan. 
The selected projects are bound to apply standards and methodologies consistent with the 2030 Agenda’s SDG goals, in which issues like climate change, poverty, water scarcity and gender gaps are labeled as priorities. 
According to Ulises Neri, Regional Director, ICE-SRM, the program is to last six months, during which the mining projects will be observed at different stages of their lifespan to assess how they adhere to the program's methodologies and standards to detect needs and challenges for all stakeholders, including surrounding communities, companies and the government. "To achieve a really sustainable operation (and not just a greenwashed project) you need to know where you are regarding technical, economic, social and environmental matters to see how the company will contribute to the community in 15, 20 or 30 years. Of course, all of this will be conducted within a methodology that will help integrate all elements together," Neri said.