Intro: On the road to regulatory clarity, the current administration has had to maneuver decisions through various unforeseen bumps in the mining industry that have created an impact on its development. Peña Nieto’s administration entered the country during the mining industry’s peak when the price of gold broke the US$1,800/oz mark and authorities found it opportune to start the process for a new royalty tax. Unfortunately, by the time a 7.5 percent tax on mining production and a 0.5 percent additional tax on gold, silver and platinum operations were approved in 2014, mining companies faced a steep drop in prices to US$1,143. Similar ripples of discontent arose when the state of Zacatecas decided to create an ecological tax early in 2017 that has been declared unconstitutional by a group of concerned miners. Exploration itself is being held back after regulations forbid companies from deducting pre-operative expenses incurred during the first year.

These complexities are addressed by top legal experts, companies and public-sector authorities. Best practices and insight into strategic regulatory risk-management insight will also be shared by executives from leading mining companies in Mexico that deal with these topics on a daily basis.

Key Question: What were the main regulatory challenges that the current administration inherited in 2012 and how have these advanced through the term?