Mining Value Up 21% in 2025 Despite Flat Volume: CAMIMEX

Mexico’s mining-metallurgical production value reached a historic MX$379.29 billion in 2025, marking a 21.2% increase driven almost entirely by elevated international metal prices rather than physical volume expansion. While high valuations boosted immediate fiscal revenue, persistent regulatory bottlenecks and stagnant output underline the critical need for predictable public policies to unlock Mexico’s US$40 billion potential investment pipeline. Establishing long-term policy certainty is essential for major operators to convert temporary price surges into sustainable economic growth across North American supply chains.

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Despite a 21.2% increase in Mexican mining value in 2025, the volume of mining production remained technically flat, according to CAMIMEX. The chamber stressed the importance of a public policy framework that enables the development of new projects, noting the potential to unlock over US$40 billion in new investment by the end of Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration.

During the presentation of CAMIMEX’s Annual Report 2026, Pedro Rivero, President, CAMIMEX, detailed that the value of national mining-metallurgical production reached a historic high of MX$379.29 billion (US$22 billion) in 2025, representing a 21.2% year-over-year increase driven primarily by elevated international metal prices.

Despite the increase in monetary value, the physical volume index of national mining production remained virtually flat, registering a 3.2% contraction in real mining GDP during 2025. Rivero noted that high global market valuations for precious and industrial metals masked underlying operational contractions caused by natural mine depletion, delays in environmental permitting, and a three-year pause in the granting of new mining concessions following regulatory shifts enacted in 2023. 

"This confirms the importance of strengthening exploration and continuing to work with the authorities to leverage the vast mining potential of Mexican engineers and Mexican territory. To turn this strength into sustained growth, it is essential to promote exploration, new projects, and conditions of investment certainty,” Rivero said.

Mining Financial Performance and Foreign Exchange

Precious metals served as the primary growth engine for production value during 2025, expanding by 33.1% in total value. Silver recorded a 34.9% increase in production value, supported by an average annual price increase of 41.6%, while gold value grew by 31.8% following an average price rise of 44% and 53 historical price highs throughout the year. 

Mexico maintained its global rank as the top producer of silver and the ninth producer of gold. Industrial metals value increased 12.1%, supported by gains in copper, zinc, and molybdenum, while siderurgical minerals rose 11.5%, driven by a 14.3% recovery in iron ore pellet output. Non-metallic minerals declined 14.7% in total value to MX$19.47 billion.

Mining-metallurgical exports grew nearly 20% to reach US$30.64 billion, generating a trade surplus of US$13.75 billion and restoring mining as the fifth largest source of foreign exchange for Mexico. Mining activity accounted for 2.93% of national GDP and 4.5% of expanded GDP, while representing 9.57% of total industrial GDP. At the regional level, the primary mining states of Sonora, Zacatecas, Chihuahua, Durango, and Guerrero achieved a combined economic growth rate of 1.5%, outperforming the national economic growth rate of 0.6%.

Higher metal prices translated into record fiscal revenue from the sector, with total tax contributions reaching MX$78.14 billion in 2025, a 72.3% increase compared to 2024. Total sector investment during 2025 stood at US$4.9 billion, directed predominantly toward expanding existing operations, safety upgrades, process optimization, and environmental management. 

Mexico improved its position in the Fraser Institute Investment Attractiveness Index, advancing from 49th to 36th place globally; however, CAMIMEX considers there are some areas of opportunity to improve Mexico’s position in that ranking, starting with fostering exploration.

Direct employment in the sector stood at 400,057 jobs at the close of December 2025, representing a 4% decrease compared to 2024, alongside an estimated 2.4 million indirect jobs. Average wages in the sector remained 28.5% above the national average following a 7.5% annual increase, covering 5.1 basic food and non-food baskets. Female participation in the direct mining workforce reached 18.5%, totaling over 73,000 women across technical, operational, and executive roles.

Regulatory Outlook and Supply Chain Integration

Karen Flores, Director General, CAMIMEX, emphasized the role of Mexican mineral production within North American industrial supply chains. Flores cited a joint study conducted with the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE) that identified 192 industrial production chains dependent on domestic mineral inputs, including 12 minerals categorized as critical for North America such as copper, zinc, lead, fluorite, barite, and molybdenum.

Highlighting technological contributions, Rivero pointed to historical domestic innovations, such as the direct reduction process for iron ore and specialized processing techniques for manganese, as evidence of Mexican engineering leadership in global metallurgy. 

Looking at long-term capital deployment, Rivero and  Flores noted that private operators hold an estimated US$14 billion in prospective capital ready for investment, while projecting that total sector investment could exceed US$40 billion over the remainder of the presidential term through a combination of new developments and operational reinvestments. 

However, Rivero noted that realizing this potential depends on improving regulatory certainty, as approximately US$11 billion in project investments currently remain stalled pending regulatory decisions and environmental permit approvals. Industry representatives reaffirmed their intent to participate in consultations surrounding the upcoming review of the USMCA, citing the necessity of raw material supply security for automotive, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing sectors across the region.

Could the Lack of New Exploration Projects Threaten Mexico’s Mining Future?

When questioned by MBN about the risks of various mining projects reaching the end of their operational lifecycle, Flores warned that the finite nature of mineral resources means mines naturally reach depletion, risking the economic benefits generated both in producing regions and across the national economy. She stressed that as existing operations face declining reserves and output, Mexico risks squandering its position as a key supplier to North American industrial chains unless private operators are permitted to expand exploration activities.

"What we invite and will continue pushing for is greater exploration and incentives so that during this phase, which is purely research, development, and investment, not profit, private companies, who hold the expertise and intensive risk capital, are permitted to continue making major discoveries and extending the operating life of existing mining operations," Flores stated.

Beyond critical minerals, she emphasized the ongoing necessity of priority domestic resources such as gold, iron ore, copper, zinc, molybdenum, gypsum, lime, cadmium, and dolomite, noting that intensive exploration is essential to sustaining the livelihoods of 3 million families dependent on Mexican mining.