MEXICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Fernando Todd, Mariana Todd, Jorge Garcia and Silvia Alanis, Todd
Foreign Investment Law This law establishes the conditions under which for - eign investors may participate in the mining sector. Specific Environmental Regulations for the Mining Industry There are specific regulations issued by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources that regulate environmental aspects of mining activities, such as waste management, pollution prevention and restora - tion of affected areas. 1.3 Ownership of Mineral Resources In Mexico, all natural resources, including minerals, are constitutionally owned by the Mexican Nation and managed by the State. To facilitate their extrac - tion and use, the government employs a concession system, which grants legal entities or individuals the right to conduct mining activities. These concessions come with specific legal obligations and regulatory frameworks. Key Points about Mining Concessions • Exploitation rights: concessions provide the right to exploit underground resources such as minerals, but they do not automatically grant ownership of the land itself. • Surface v subsurface rights: • mining concessions govern subsurface rights, focusing on the extraction of minerals; • surface rights refer to the ownership or use of the land at ground level; these must be negotiated with the landowners, whether they are private individu - als, ejido communities, or other entities; and • mining concessions are issued, maintained and transferred independently of surface rights; this means that concession holders must secure sepa - rate agreements to access and use the surface land for their mining operations. 1.4 Role of the State in Mining Law and Regulations Under Mexican law, mineral resources are the prop - erty of the nation, and the state has exclusive control over their use. Mining activities by private parties are permitted only through mining concessions issued by the federal executive, via the Ministry of Economy, in accordance with the Mexican Mining Law and its
This regulatory vacuum has taken on greater sig - nificance following the September 2025 ruling of the Mexican Supreme Court (SCJN), which held that min - ing concession applications and related expectations do not constitute vested rights, but rather contingent interests dependent on the legal framework in force when the authorities issue their decision. Although the Court reaffirmed the State’s sovereign authority to redefine the rules governing natural resource exploita - tion, it also underscored the need for clear regulatory instruments to define the scope and continuity of con - cession holders’ rights. Had the new Regulation been issued, it would provide the operational framework needed to determine which substantive rights – particularly those associated with concessions granted before the 2023 reform – remain protected and which are subject to the new regime. In its absence, companies must navigate a period of legal uncertainty, relying on administrative discretion and evolving judicial criteria to interpret the reach and applicability of the amended Mining Law. The General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection This law contains provisions that affect the mining industry, especially with respect to environmental impact assessment and waste management. Agrarian Law Mexico has private property and “ejido” land. “Ejido” land refers to a system of communal land ownership, established as part of agrarian reforms after the Mexi - can Revolution. Ejido land is owned collectively by a group of people, typically farmers or indigenous com - munities, and is primarily used for agriculture. While individuals or families have the right to work specific plots, the land cannot be sold or transferred without community and government approval. The system aims to ensure equitable access to land and promote sustainable farming practices. The Agrarian Law regulates legal relations related to land ownership and possession of “Ejido” land, as well as agreements with local communities to obtain and/operate concessions.
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