"Mining firms in Mexico must face ‘strict’ scrutiny, says senior official", 17 december 2021

...Mining companies in Mexico should expect tough environmental reviews given their projects’ major impacts, a senior official told Reuters, insisting that a backlog of evaluations is easing despite industry claims that the opposite is true...

Tonatiuh Herrera, deputy environment minister who oversees regulatory compliance, said in an interview that pandemic-related closures last year did contribute to a backlog of environmental evaluations for mines but the ministry never stopped processing permits.

“We need to have strict environmental evaluations,” he said at his office in Mexico City.

Mining company executives have argued that President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has undercut mining with record regulatory delays caused largely by steep budget cuts at the ministry, and warned companies may shift new investments to more inviting countries...

“One could say, ‘How can you even imagine an environmental authorization for a project like that with such a major impact?'” asked Herrera...

Herrera argues mining companies may have grown accustomed to minimal oversight by past governments.

“They practically gave everything automatic authorizations,” he said.

Herrera emphasized miners must not only comply with all environmental safeguards, including proper upkeep of 660 so-called tailing ponds that hold toxic mining waste and are all under review, but they must also consult communities before launching projects...