Mexico has taken back 1,126 mining concessions since late 2024, official says

MEXICO CITY, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Mexico has taken back 1,126 mining concessions, equivalent to 889,000 hectares, since October 2024, said Fernando Aboitiz, head of mining in Mexico's economy ministry.

Individuals and companies lost the concessions because they failed to pay to maintain mining rights and did not submit statistical data or progress reports, he said on Thursday at the president's regular morning press conference.

Most of the mines are located in the north and center of the country, including Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango and Zacatecas, a presentation showed.

Aboitiz said that about 90% of concessions are held by individuals and the rest by companies.

"So many of these concessions, in principle, belong to this type of person who was speculating," he said, adding that some companies, including Mexican miners Industrias Peñoles and Minera Autlán, had reached agreements with the government to reduce the number of their concessions.