The Mining of the Future: Responsible, Inclusive and Sustainable

If we see mining from the perspective of a negative stigma and help to spread the notion that it is a polluting activity, while also being economically unfair and careless in terms of safety, we will be contributing to a simplistic vision that limits the understanding of the important relationship mining has regarding our day to day.

Mexican mining dates back dozens of generations, around which not only were communities created thanks to this activity, but it also helped found entire states in today’s republic. With the evolution of technology and its application in our daily lives, 100 percent of our actions are directly impacted by mining.

The mining sector generates 408,830 direct jobs and more than 2 million indirect jobs. It contributes 3.06 percent to national GDP and represents 9.62 percent of industrial GDP. Currently, mining-related salaries place the sector among the 10 best jobs in this country, since its remuneration even exceeds the national average, which translates into stability and development for Mexican families.

In addition, within this industry there is a strong desire to comply with the transparency requirements that are specified in the voluntary publication of data, and there is also the effort to seek solutions to each obstacle that arises, such as companies adding elements against climate change in their strategic plans that include the circular economy in their production processes, seeking renewable energies and water care, in addition to contributing to reforestation in the country, which makes mining the sector that contributes the most to this cause, only after the Army.

Without mining, there would be no cellphones to communicate with our closest friends, cables that provide us with electricity, pipes that carry water to our homes and there would even be no medicines that are vital to curing certain ailments.

It is for the above that I want to declare that at the Mining Commission of the Senate of the Republic we are aware of the effort with which each person contributes to the development of this activity, which not only contributes to improving the quality of life of Mexicans but also helps to rank Mexico among the leaders at the international level according to different indicators that directly evaluate this activity.

That is why, as a legislator, I will always promote good practices that result in the safety of those who work in mining.

The next ordinary session of the Senate begins on Sept. 1, so we have prepared various proposals for discussion and work toward their approval for the benefit of the sector. Among these, I would like to share those that I consider most relevant.

Various countries have a Ministry of Mining and these countries share certain characteristics in common with Mexico, the main one being worldwide recognition of the importance of mining.

The importance of having a specialized authority in the matter is to innovate, monitor and investigate that we are complying with responsible and sustainable mining throughout the country. That is why Mexico must have a special body for the sector.

In the Senate of the Republic, the discussion and approval of a General Law of the Consultation of Native Peoples and Afro-Mexicans has been delayed. We have to re-learn how to refer to our Indigenous, native and Afro-Mexican peoples. They belong to a sector that historically has been the bastion in the struggle for many just causes. Respecting their preservation of culture and territory should not be in doubt.

Mining is not the only activity that requires and demands a prior consultation but the attention it receives is paramount, since there have been confrontations that could be avoided with appropriate regulation.

From the Mining Commission, we will promote the revision of the Mining Law, with the purpose of making a critical, scientific and feasible application proposal, which reflects the Mexican experience and narrative.

To achieve the above, those who work in mining must meet, discuss and propose. Just to give an example of who needs to be present: professors from various universities, representatives of the private sector, representatives of the workforce and experts on the subject at an international level.

From this moment, we reject those who propose instability, confrontation and misinformation on the matter. Or those who seek to benefit at the expense of Mexicans.

In addition to the previous issues that are in the workplan for this period, we are hoping to improve the regulatory framework to favor digitization and also seek a proposal that counteracts illegal mining that pollutes the environment and puts our health at risk.

Likewise, I want to express my full commitment to monitoring the changes that have occurred in the mining sector.

We are on the eve of the creation of the body that will regulate lithium and we will be very attentive to its creation for its subsequent evaluation.

The mining of the future must be sustainable, inclusive, culturally and socially responsible, and allows the current development of the country, but also seeks the right balance for future generations. The value of serving the people must not be lost, it must grow; mining serves Mexican families throughout the territory and we must ensure this end.