AMLO outlines pending issues with Canadian miners

Tax and environmental issues and security concerns of Canadian miners with operations in Mexico look to get renewed attention.

During his daily press conference on Wednesday, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) reiterated his “commitment to receive the managers of these companies and seek a solution, seek a way out that does not harm them.”

He said, “in mining, we should have more problems because there are 125 Canadian mining companies. There are two problems on their part and one on our part. First, one mining company does not pay us taxes; and second, complaints that [miners] can’t work in Guerrero, which is true. They are being extorted and we are already looking into it.”

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discussed these topics with AMLO during the recent North American Leaders' Summit and promised to invite the leaders of the affected companies.

Security is a major risk, with drug cartels vying for control in key mining states such as Sonora, Zacatecas, Chihuahua, Durango and Guerrero.

The president of mining chamber Camimex, Jaime Gutiérrez, said at the recent presentation of the chamber’s 2022 report that insecurity was “an additional mining tax,” representing 10%-20% of the finished product’s value.

OTHER ISSUES

Although AMLO did not mention the miner with pending tax issues, First Majestic Silver started arbitration proceedings in March 2021 related to a dispute linked to the San Dimas gold-silver mine.

Referring to the case in December without mentioning the miner either, economy minister, Raquel Buenrostro, who is also a former head of tax authority SAT, confirmed a case was being decided at the supreme court.

"A case [is underway] at the supreme court for damages. With that case, they decided not to pay for 10 years, and tax matters are not a matter of international treaties. That is going to be resolved and we have to build our defense."

AMLO also said he reminded Trudeau of the destruction a Canadian miner caused to Cerro San Pedro in San Luis Potosí state. He claimed the miner and federal and local authorities of opposition party PAN were collaborating at the expense of the environment.

Although he did not mention the miner, the economy ministry's mining registry lists New Gold as licensed to extract and sell gold and silver from the mine.

Yet, AMLO underlined "just as arbitrariness was committed, now fortunately most Canadian mining companies are helping us so that the territory is not destroyed, that the environment is cared for. They are paying mining workers the most and they are the ones that help the communities and state governments the most."