Mining Companies Prioritize Water Savings, Regulation Tightens

The new regulatory regime in Mexico, driven by the General Water Law and the 2026 Circular Economy Law, subordinates industrial water use to human and domestic priorities, increasing the burden of proof for mining operations. To mitigate risks of capital erosion and indirect damage liabilities, companies are urged to conduct technical self-diagnostics and comprehensive audits of water concessions. Despite these stricter rules, industry data shows the mining sector utilizes only 0.27% of national water while maintaining high recirculation efficiency, as demonstrated by operational benchmarks from Ternium, Torex Gold, and Alamos Gold. Transparent governance and holistic water stewardship now serve as critical shields for protecting social licenses and ensuring long-term asset viability in high-stress basins.

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The implementation of Mexico's new General Water Law and associated environmental reforms has established a regulatory framework that prioritizes the human right to water over industrial use. While mining consumes less than 1% of the national concessioned water, the sector is shifting toward creating water infrastructure to reduce consumption. 

According to Jesús Dorantes, Environmental VP, CARAL, this shift requires the mining sector to conduct internal diagnostics to address risks related to asset viability, capital erosion, and potential early closures. Under the current regime, water is no longer treated as a productive input, but as a fundamental right, and mining companies must provide defensible evidence that their projects do not compromise third-party access to the resource.

Legally, human consumption, sanitation, and subsistence agriculture now sit at the top of a rigid hierarchy of uses, while industry occupies the lowest rung, Dorantes notes. In water-stressed basins, mining access can be denied regardless of a project's potential for job creation or local development. Furthermore, the concept of availability has been redefined to include intergenerational equity and strategic sustainability reserves, meaning the legally available volume for renewals in over-exploited aquifers can fall to zero. “For portfolios that relied on the assumption of automatic renewals in highly stressed aquifers, this directly affects mine‑life expectations and discounted cash flows,” Dorantes notes in an MBN Expert Contributor Piece.

The regulatory environment is further shaped by the convergence of federal environmental liability rules and the General Circular Economy Law, in force since early 2026. These reforms introduce the concept of indirect damage, extending a company's responsibility beyond obvious contamination to include long-term aquifer drawdown or changes in river quality even years after closure. Additionally, the new circular economy mandate reconfigures the management of tailings and wastewater, treating these as circular liabilities that require potential valorization and internal reuse.

What to do Under the New Water Regulation? 

In this new environment, Dorantes considers that companies must launch a comprehensive audit of water rights, discharge permits, and ongoing procedures to classify each operation by legal and social water risk. Technically, this requires updated water balances, realistic assessments of treatment and reuse capacity, and scenario analysis of the capital investments needed to adapt to tighter standards.

Socially, operators need to revisit community relationships through a water-rights lens, especially in indigenous territories and conflict-prone basins. Strategically, aligning closure and post-closure policies with the emerging doctrine of indirect damage and extended responsibility is vital, says Dorantes. Companies that undertake this work now will enter negotiation cycles with regulators, communities, and investors, with better information and more credible technical backing. “The advantage will belong to those who understand their risks, confront them early, and turn compliance into a source of resilience and competitive differentiation,” he concludes.

Water Consumption and Sustainability Metrics in the Mexican Mining Sector

According to the CAMIMEX Sustainability Report 2025, the mining sector’s water usage is framed within a national context where the total volume of conceded water reaches 90,000hm3. In 2024, the volume conceded specifically to the mining sector represented approximately 0.27% of this national total. Data from the same year indicates that 71% of the water utilized by the sector was derived from residual and recirculated sources, with process water recirculation accounting for 70% and residual water reuse contributing 1%. The remaining consumption for the year was distributed between groundwater at 20% and surface water at 9%.

As part of the National Agreement for the Human Right to Water and Sustainability signed with the federal government, affiliated mining companies committed to returning an estimated 30.2 million m3 of water. This figure constitutes one-quarter of the agreement's total 126 million m3 target. 

Industry implementation of these standards is evidenced by several operational benchmarks. Ternium’s Las Encinas in Colima reuses 96.1% of the water in its processes, recirculating 19 million m³ monthly. Torex Gold’s Media Luna mine in Guerrero operates four wastewater treatment plants and recycles 100% of that water for irrigation and roads. 

In Sonora, Alamos Gold’s Minas de Oro Nacional utilizes its sixth treatment plant to prevent runoff and enable production reuse, while Heliostar Metals’ La Colorada mine recirculates 94% of its water under a zero-discharge model. “Mines generate employment, stimulate local economies, create supplier networks, and lead to infrastructure improvements like roads, power lines, and water treatment plants, while also supporting environmental conservation,” said Fabián Casaubón, Partner, AOSENUMA, in an interview with MBN.

Prioritizing Governance and Community Transparency

To improve ESG performance and secure social licenses, mine operations are prioritizing water stewardship, a holistic approach that aligns a mine's operational needs with the commitments made to local communities and government agencies. This strategy relies on establishing a governance process where technical data is monitored, transparent, and accessible to the public. By using well-defined controls and standardized KPIs, companies can provide the transparency in consumption and monitoring required under contemporary water governance, Gustavo Bravo, Mining Director Latin America and the Caribbean, WSP, told MBN. 

Effective community relations are increasingly dependent on translating this complex technical information into accessible formats. Prioritizing workshops and meetings allows operators to explain the mine's role and the potential effects of its operations on local watersheds in simple terms, Bravo notes. This proactive engagement, which often includes managing public hearings for large audiences, ensures that communities are informed about how the mine manages shared resources before conflicts arise.