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Mexico Negotiates With Vulcan Materials Over Calica Mine Under Protected-Area Ban

Sheinbaum says a potential deal would move the company to alternatives outside the reserve.

Overview

  • The president said Mexico is in active talks with Vulcan Materials to reach an agreement that keeps the Calica site off-limits under the protected-area decree.
  • She outlined options that include reviewing other quarry sites outside the reserve and noted the company’s Punta Venado port concession is not in use.
  • Sheinbaum said a recent U.S. proposal to shield American property abroad would not affect this case because Mexico did not expropriate the mine, as the dispute sits in international arbitration.
  • Vulcan’s claim at the World Bank’s ICSID tribunal has grown to about $1.9 billion after years of restrictions tied to local land-use changes in 2009, site closures in 2017–2018, and the loss of its port permit.
  • La Jornada reported that Mexico’s environment ministry estimated a 34.65 billion peso restoration bill from decades of limestone extraction that harmed cenotes and the region’s groundwater.