The Mexican parliament's lower house voted to press ahead with the proposed overhaul of the country's mining laws, a move that has been widely feared to increase risks for foreign investors.
A key vote to advance the mining bill to the senate was carried with 251 in favor and 209 against on Friday, after a fast track process.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office in late 2018, and has refused to offer any new mining concessions, arguing that too many had been frittered away by previous governments.
In a nutshell, the proposed new rules being advanced by President Obrador’s administration includes shortening concessions, tightening water permits and giving back some profits.
Mexico has always been a big mining destination for companies from North America as it is the world's top silver producer and one of the largest producers of copper and gold.
Reuters reported that the reforms would require miners to give back at least 10% of profits to communities and disclose the impacts of their operations.
In February this year, President Obrador signed a decree handing over responsibility for lithium reserves to the country’s energy ministry, after nationalizing lithium deposits last April.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
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