Thursday, 6th March 2008 (2442 views)

A new gold rush driven by increased foreign investment in gold exploration and development brought Mexico's mining production to a record high in 2007, according to reports.

Canadian newspaper the Globe & Mail says the country's mining output hit US$7.2 billion (£3.60 billion) last year. Five years ago, it was $2.3 billion.

Mexico's economy minister Eduardo Sojo Garza-Aldape recently told the Prospectors and Developers' Association of Canada convention in Toronto that Mexico's gold mining is currently experiencing the "best period in history", the paper states.

It adds that the growth is being fuelled by rich mineral deposits combined with high market prices and "easy to navigate" regulations.

As a result, spending on mining exploration in Mexico topped $189 million last year, a 7.4 per cent increase on 2006 and the fourth-highest amount in the world behind Canada, Australia and the United States.

The paper says many Mexicans are benefiting, with 300,000 people now employed in the mining industry. Mr Garza-Aldape said these jobs are important for the country as they help to revive the economies of the most deprived regions.

Much of the new exploration underway in Mexico is taking place in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range, according to recent a report by the International Herald Tribune.

 

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