MEXICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Fernando Todd, Jorge Garcia, Silvia Alanis and Ana Lilia Solano, Todd
The system aims to ensure equitable access to land and promote sustainable farming practices. The Agrarian Law regulates legal relations relat - ed to land ownership and possession of “Ejido” land, as well as agreements with local communi - ties to obtain and/operate concessions. Foreign Investment Law This law establishes the conditions under which foreign investors may participate in the mining sector. Specific Environmental Regulations for the Mining Industry There are specific regulations issued by the Min - istry of Environment and Natural Resources that regulate environmental aspects of mining activi - ties, such as waste management, pollution pre - vention and restoration of affected areas. 1.3 Ownership of Mineral Resources In Mexico, all natural resources, including miner - als, are constitutionally owned by the Mexican Nation and managed by the State. To facili - tate their extraction 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 frame - works. 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: (a) Mining concessions govern subsurface rights, focusing on the extraction of min - erals. (b) 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 individuals, ejido communities, or other entities. (c) Mining concessions are issued, main - tained, and transferred independently of surface rights. This means concession holders must secure separate 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 property of the nation, and the state has exclu - sive control over their use. Mining activities by private parties are permitted only through min - ing concessions issued by the federal executive, via the Ministry of Economy, in accordance with the Mexican Mining Law and its regulations. This framework ensures that the state acts as both a grantor and regulator of mining rights. Key Aspects of the Mexican Mining Legal Framework Scope of mining concessions • Concessions grant rights to exploit and extract mineral resources but do not convey ownership or surface land rights. • Surface rights must be negotiated separately with landowners or communities. Exclusions • Certain resources, including oil, hydrocar - bons, lithium, radioactive minerals, and liquid or gaseous substances, are excluded from concessions and remain strictly under state control.
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