Latin America’s mining sector a blessing and a curse

Earlier this month, ten coal miners became trapped inside a flooded mine in La Agujita, in the Mexican state of Coahuila. A crew of over 600 people — including army divers with drones — has been mobilized for over two weeks, but so far the rescue teams have been unable to even ascertain the trapped mining workers’ health conditions, let alone bring them to safety. 

Flooding from a nearby mine recently caused water levels to rise again, further setting back rescue efforts and leading the Mexican government to ask for international support. The country is receiving assistance from U.S. and German companies, so as to “get a second opinion” on the rescue strategy, says Laura Velázquez, Mexico’s  Civil Protection National Coordinator.  

These sorts of accidents are far from being an exception in Mexico, whose mining and metals sector accounted for more than 3 percent of GDP in 2021. As this latest tragedy unfolds, Mexico is once again confronted with the issue of how to mitigate the dangerous side-effects of this profitable segment of its economy. 

It is a dilemma with which much of Latin America is familiar, especially as environmental concerns begin to weigh more heavily. 

The mining blessing

Mexico, like many of its Latin American neighbors, is defined as a developing economy, characterized by a weak industrial infrastructure, a comparatively low Human Development Index, unstable growth rates, and sharp income inequality. Amid this inconsistent socio-economic scenario, another point that usually defines Latin American countries is their dependency on the exploitation of raw materials. 

Here, the mining sector stands out. 

According to a World Mining Data 2022 report, Latin America and the Caribbean account for 5.5 percent of global mining production. Big economies Chile, Peru, Brazil, and Mexico are responsible for 85 percent of...