Zacatecas A reference for the global mining industry Motherland - your surface is corn your mines are the palace of the King of Gold and your sky... storks in flight and the green lightning of streaking parrots. Ramón López Velarde Governor of Zacatecas Miguel Alonso Reyes My government’s development plan One result of that vision is this state’s The set of amendments that is driving involves the creation of more and position as the first in Mexico to have a Mexico, including political, educational, better job sources as one of its principal mining cluster. fiscal, telecommunications, and energy priorities. reforms, comprise a series of instruments One of the cluster’s objectives is to set in place by Enrique Peña Nieto’s We brought the Zacatecas unemployment attract state-of-the-art technology for administration to attract investment and rate down by more than two percentage the operation of local, domestic and boost the quality of life in Mexico. points from 7% in the third quarter of foreign companies, bringing academia, 2011 to 4.5% in the same period in 2014. enterprises, and suppliers together in a Mexico is gradually implementing That rate is below the national average, great alliance favoring competitiveness, additional reforms involving the Social which was 5.2% for that period1. know-how and mutual strengthening. Security and health system, which provide greater thrust to the development of The government of the state will continue The greater complexity in the science and technology at public and to actively work with the main economic composition of ore mined posed the private institutions. sectors to ensure that each of them is challenge of attracting investment that, provided with the conditions required guided by innovation and technological Zacatecas is benefiting from those great to achieve their potential and that development, will provide an effective reforms and adding them to a long-term the economically active population is boost to mining in Zacatecas. social and economic development project absorbed into the labor market. whose principal purpose is to achieve well- It is particularly important to come up being for Zacatecan families. The results achieved by my government with comprehensive mining development show annual GDP growth (at constant plans that will guarantee an economic With better results from economic prices) of 3.9% from 2010 to 2013, benefit for the state. development... Zacatecas forges ahead! placing the state above the national Contributing to the consolidation of the average, which was 3.6% for that period2. mining industry as an economic driver We are building a modern and for Mexico is a responsibility requiring competitive economy which will place us us to make use of new operating tools, strategically within the global economy create alliances, and develop successful and contribute to social well-being as well practices within that sector. as to the generation and utilization of Today’s favorable scenario in Zacatecas scientific and technological know-how. can be better explained in the context of the results of the President of Mexico’s policies and efforts, as his structural reforms are beginning to show a nation in movement. 1 National Institute of Statistics and Geographicaly (INEGI for its acronym in Spanish), Economic Information Bank, National Accounts System. 2 INEGI Economic Information Bank, National Accounts System, 2013. PwC Mexico 3 Clúster Minero de Zacatecas A.C. President Jaime Lomelín Guillén The economy of Zacatecas is rooted We would like the community of investors Improvements in infrastructure, in different activities, such as mining, to see that mining development in the communication, competitive salaries, agriculture, cattle-raising, tourism, state of Zacatecas enjoys a privileged logistical nodes, offer in education and the and culture. Of these sectors, mining geographical location at the center of a network of hospitals (among others) will is the most important, i.e., one of the network that spans the north, south, east, be discussed in this publication as they state’s economic pillars. In 2013 alone, it and west of Mexico. That geographical illustrate the efforts made by the state to contributed 28%3 to GDP at current prices. position is strengthened by highway and boost the level of well-being for railway networks linking it to the country’s its inhabitants. We realize that underground mining principal ports, borders, and economic requires highly specialized machinery Those measures, as well as the specific centers. Getting there is easy, because the and equipment, as well as good steps designed to strengthen industrial state boasts roads, railways, and an airport communications (among other factors) policies, increase the appeal of the state serving domestic and international traffic. in order to provide security and make it for major international investment. The possible to effectively exploit all available All these railways, highways, and Zacatecas mining sector enjoys a favorable mineral deposits. Zacatecas, Chihuahua, airports (with strategic connections for investment scenario over the medium Durango, Aguascalientes, and San Luis doing business) place investors in a very and long term, generated by academic, Potosí form a mining corridor specializing favorable position for transporting government, and industrial entities. in underground mining with experience, ore, raw materials, machinery, There exists important success cases know-how, communications, and manufactured items, and services to the of supplier companies established transport connecting them to the rest rest of the country and abroad. Those of us in Zacatecas; thereby, opening very of the country. that have done business for more than 50 good opportunities to participate in years know that it is a great place to carry The mining sector is dynamic and is linked the domestic market that requires out entrepreneurial activities. to a number of industrial enterprises. It is competitiveness and good service. a focal point for investment in machinery Our purpose is clear: we must strengthen Likewise, there exists three operating and equipment in the respective supply the presence of our mining cluster industrial parks; five other parks in chain. Furthermore, it contributes to (Clusmin) which is a platform that in development; and one Science and growth in human resources, which provides a favorable business environment Technology park, also in development. strengthens the position of the state in to strengthen the mining industry in the The state’s colonial past has made its general, as it has done throughout its state. This Clusmin is an organization culture known worldwide and can still be long history. Those are the factors behind led by the private sector with support felt in important facets of the mining and the goal set forth by the government of from educational institutions and the tourism industries. They are key factors the state of Zacatecas to conduct a study government. in the development of the state based on designed to highlight our achievements, It is the mission of the Clusmin to improve mining providing ample space for growth. capacity, and potential. We are joining the mining industry by means of joint the effort to generate synergy that endeavors designed to develop supply, will promote, through alliances and devise innovative processes, increase agreements, the competitiveness of the industrial security, and develop human mining industry in the state of Zacatecas. capital within the sector. We support the efforts of the government of Zacatecas to maintain and constantly rebuild its network of highways and railways as a means of promoting the development of infrastructure that will continue to expand the network connecting the state to the other states and federal entities in Mexico; as well, to countries in North and South America, and other continents. 3 ProMéxico 2014 4 Mexico and Zacatecas PwC Mexico Senior Partner Carlos Méndez Rodríguez This publication provides a panoramic “Zacatecas, a reference for the global The results that Zacatecas has achieved view of Mexico’s very prominent mining industry” is based on a previous prove that it is a state with great business worldwide position in the production of report published by PwC, “Mexico and its potential, as confirmed by the data metal and non-metal ores, in reserves of States of Opportunity”. Both publications contained in the World Bank’s 2014 “Doing the principal metals, and in their notable emphasize the positive outlook in the Business in Mexico.” The study places the capacity to attract mining investment. It country’s development achieved via state seventh in ease of doing business also includes an analysis of the level of different indicators. The methodology in Mexico and first in resolution of trade development (focusing on underground used in this report was adapted to create disputes for breach of contract. mining) of a number of indicators and indicators designed to highlight the It is important to point out that today in critical variables for evaluating the contributions of the mining industry in Mexico, the growing volume of statistical mining industry in the different states Zacatecas. Another important change information available both at the state and regions of Mexico, as well as the key was to replace the regionalization and national level has made it possible macroeconomic variables for the state of developed by Angel Bassol (geographer to specialize our indicators. For example, Zacatecas and their performance in the and researcher) with those constructed we conducted a careful selection of West-Central region4. by ProMéxico in order to identify the three indicators for the mining sector country’s urbanization patterns5. The Mexico’s remarkable position within environment (five variables); the value of latter was used because it shows the the mining industry stands out amid the mining production (four variables); and economic behavior of the different recent worldwide scenario of falling prices employment generation and participation regions from the viewpoint of public- for different metals and the rise in the tax (two variables).