Mexico's natural resources

Mexico has a variety of natural resources that remain significant to its economy in the twenty-first century. The country is consistently among the worldwide leaders in silver production; the metal has been mined in the region since 1546 and following the disruptions in production output in 2020, production grew in 2021 by 5.3 percent, the largest increase in production since 2013. Although silver production fell slightly in 2022, it remained considerably high. Mexico is also a major producer of petroleum, with the crude oil industry controlled by a government-operated company. Other resources include natural gas, minerals such as copper and zinc, and the nation's forests.

The Country

Mexico is located in North America, sharing a border with the United States to the north. It is bordered to the south by Belize and Guatemala in Central America. To the east, Mexico borders the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The country’s western shore meets the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of California, and the Gulf of Tehuantepec. Only about one-third of Mexico is flat. A chain of volcanic mountains runs east-west across the country just south of Mexico City. Plateaus also dominate the landscape. The Sierra Madre mountain chains surround the region’s plateau in a V shape. The Sonoran Desert covers the area east of the Gulf of California.

In 2023, Mexico’s economy was one of the largest in the world, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.873 trillion and a per capita GDP of $22,400. A large portion of Mexico’s income results from oil production. The country is a leading producer of silver and also mines copper, lead, zinc, and gold.

Silver

Mexico is among the largest producers of silver in the world; its 822.6 million troy ounces produced in 2021 led all countries. Many of the top silver mines (in terms of production) are located in Mexico’s silver belt in the center of the country. The majority of silver is taken from mines in Guanajuato, Pachuca, and Zacatecas.

The city of Taxco is one of the oldest mining sites in the Western Hemisphere. Within a year of conquering the Aztecs in 1521, the Spanish discovered the value of Taxco. By the beginning of the seventeenth century, silver mined in Taxco could be found throughout Europe. Taxco became known worldwide for its silver wealth. For the Spanish, it also was the primary mining site for several precious metals. However, as richer and more accessible veins were found, Taxco slowly faded in mining importance.

Don José de la Borda, known as the father of Taxco, rediscovered the city’s silver wealth in 1716. He used part of the fortune he made to build schools, houses, roads, and Taxco’s famous Santa Prisca Cathedral. Silversmithing and mining was forgotten again during Mexico’s war for independence. The Spanish destroyed the silver mines so that Mexican revolutionaries could not gain their control.

William Spratling, an American professor of architecture, moved to Mexico in 1929 and became interested in Taxco’s silver history. He encouraged local artists to become silversmiths. Spratling also created an apprenticeship program for local silversmiths with promising artistic talent, training them using his own designs. Taxco again became world famous for its silver, this time primarily for the jewelry made from the metal. Silverware and jewelry are made out of sterling silver, which is 92.5 percent silver and 7.5 percent copper. Jewelry is often coated with a thin layer of 0.999 fine silver to give it extra shine. Britannia silver is also used for utensils and is 95.8 percent pure silver.

In the modern world economy, Taxco is a world leader in silver production. Numerous silver stores are located in and around the town’s main plaza. Taxco is home to both the Spratling Museum and the Silver Museum. In 1937, Spratling created the silver fair as a party for local artists working with silver. The fair has become a national event, involving Mexico’s finest silversmiths and some of the world’s best artists. In 1953, Mexico’s president created National Silver Day, which is celebrated on the last Saturday of November. The silver fair starts that Saturday and ends the first Sunday of December each year.

Petroleum

Petroleum and petroleum-related products have a long history in Mexico. Asphalt and bitumen, or pitch, has been used in Mexico since the time of the Aztecs. They are believed to have used asphalt to secure stone arrowheads on the ends of wooden spears. The first time oil was refined into kerosene was in 1876, near the city of Tampico on Mexico’s eastern coast. By 1917, large quantities of Mexican oil were being drilled and refined by American and British companies. The Mexican government then proclaimed in its constitution ownership of all the country’s mineral rights.

In 1938, strikes over wages from foreign-owned companies led to the creation of Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) by Mexican president Lázaro Cárdenas. This caused many of the foreign companies to leave Mexico. Pemex is one of the largest oil companies worldwide. It is responsible for exploration, extraction, refining, transportation, distribution, and marketing of petroleum, petroleum products, and natural gas. Between heavy taxes and direct payments made to the government, Pemex was responsible for as much as one-third of Mexico’s annual revenues from the early twenty-first century through 2023. The company underwent major reform in 2013–2014, and some privatization was implemented in the oil and gas industry.

Mexico is a major producer of crude oil and ranked among the top nations in production and exports in the first decade of the twenty-first century. However, Mexico passed peak production of oil in the 2010s, and overall production began decline; by 2017, it ranked outside the top ten producing countries worldwide, ranking twelfth globally in 2022. This presented a serious issue for the country because of how heavily the government relied on money from the petroleum industry. Pemex began to search for new oil fields using seismic technology and other methods, spending an estimated 18 billion between 2021 and 2024 on seismic services, extraction, and other equipment. Despite the challenge of reaching peak oil, total petroleum production in 2023 reached 2.101 billion barrels per day.

Natural Gas

Methane is the main component of natural gas, which is another important resource in Mexico. In addition to methane, natural gas can include ethane, propane, butane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and helium. Natural gas, like petroleum and coal, forms from fossil fuels or in isolated natural gas fields. Extensive refining removes almost everything but methane.

The natural gas industry in Mexico is mainly run by Pemex. In 1995, some control of the natural gas industry was turned over to private industry. Pemex continued to control exploration, production, and firsthand sales. Pemex continues to own most of the pipelines throughout the country. Private companies handle transportation, storage, and distribution of natural gas. In 2005, several natural gas sites were found, which increased production and jobs. In 2007, natural gas pipelines became the target of attacks by the Ejército Popular Revolucionario (the People’s Revolutionary Army), a small antigovernment terrorist group formed in the 1990s. The attacks resulted in the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in production profits.

In 2022 Mexico produced 31.422 billion cubic meters of natural gas, and its proven reserves stood at 180.32 billion cubic meters in 2021.

Copper

In the late nineteenth century, a series of copper deposits were found near Santa Rosalía. These mines have been mostly depleted. Remaining copper is produced from open-pit mines near Cananea and La Caridad. Mexico remains a significant exporter of copper, bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars to the country. However, scientists estimate that the world population will deplete the Earth of known copper reserves by about 2070 if the current rate of consumption continues.

Mexico’s largest mining company, Grupo Mexico SAB, became embroiled in a lawsuit over control of the Southern Copper Corporation of Peru. American courts ruled that Grupo Mexico had to return 30 percent of its stock in Southern Copper to another mining company, Asarco. Asarco, a company based in Tucson, Arizona, was owned by Grupo Mexico until 2005, when it became board-managed, and the legal battle started. In 2009, Grupo Mexico appealed the judge’s ruling. At the same time, Grupo Mexico was dealing with a strike among its workers at the country’s largest copper mine, Cananea, near the US border. The strike started over health and safety standards. The company was given permission to fire fifteen hundred striking workers in 2009. Mexico’s labor board shut down the mine because idle machinery had been looted and damaged beyond repair.

Zinc

In 2017, Mexico was ranked sixth in global zinc production, producing 680,000 metric tons. The country is also a major zinc exporter. The largest producer of zinc in Mexico is the state of Chihuahua. The Charcas mine in the state of San Luis Potosí, in north-central Mexico, is among the top zinc-producing mines. New mines were opened in 2001 and others expanded in 2002, and production continued to rise into the 2010s.

In 2021, total production was 720,000 metric tons per year. In 2022, Mexican companies aimed to increase their production and mining of zinc, with some mining companies citing goals as ambitions as an additional 20,000 tons of product per year.

Forests and Timber

Scientists estimate that in the mid-sixteenth century, more than two-thirds of Mexico was forest. Today, the tropical forests of the southern and eastern parts of the country are largely all that remain. However, Mexico contains 1.3 percent of the world’s total forest reserves, and one-quarter of the country is classified as forest. Mexico has more species of pine and oak trees than anywhere else in the world. Nonetheless, logging has depleted Mexico’s forests severely. Some pine forests in the northern part of the country have been conserved, but the practice is not widespread. The national tree is the cypress, which is found near water in semiarid regions. Mexico also has a number of ceiba trees, which were sacred to the Mayas. The Mayas believed that a ceiba tree stood at the center of the Earth, connecting it with the spirit world overhead. Ceiba trees grow in tropical regions, tall with large canopies that house several different species. Even in modern deforestation, ceiba trees are often spared.

Mexico’s rainforests along the gulf coast and throughout the country are being cut down, and the land burned by farmers to expand their fields. This rainforest is part of the Maya Forest, which covers the Yucatán Peninsula, northern Guatemala, and parts of Belize, 5.3 million hectares in total. Efforts to preserve the forest, and the Mayan ruins within, have been complicated by a rapidly growing population. In addition to use as farmland, the forests are being cut down to make room for roads, dams, and other accommodations needed to handle an influx of workers and tourists to the region. In 1978, the Mexican government set up an international sanctuary to protect 331,200 hectares of rainforest. However, the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve continues to shrink each year. Support for the preservation of the reserve is worldwide: In 2004, the European Union pledged 31 million euros (approximately $44 million) for four years in an effort to aid the tribes that live in and near the sanctuary. Poverty and population growth have resulted in destruction of the forest.

Many valuable types of wood are found in the tropical forests, including hardwoods such as various oaks and mahogany. The forests also contain cedar and rosewood. Sapodilla trees are found in Mexico’s rainforests and are the basis of chicle. Chicle is a form of latex that is used in chewing gum. Many other products are found in the forests of Mexico, including gums, resins, fibers, oils, and waxes. However, Mexico’s forestry imports tend to exceed exports.

Other Resources

In addition to silver and copper, Mexico is an important producer and exporter of non-monetary gold. Gold is a popular metal used in jewelry, sculpture, and coins. Gold occurs naturally as granules, nuggets, and large deposits.

Lead is another metal that is heavily mined in Mexico. Bullets, pipes, pewter, radiation shields, batteries, and weights are all made from lead. Lead is also poisonous and can cause a variety of problems, including blood and brain disorders, nerve damage, even death. Mexico is also a major producer of salt, and in 2022, the world's largest sea salt factory was located in Guerrero Negro.

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