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Unknown to the majority of the Mexican population, lithium becomes the topic of the day. Although this does not mean that it has not been discovered or recorded a long time ago and, of course, that a mineral with an important future for the country has not been studied and thought about. It is used in pharmacology and other industrial applications, so don’t think of it as a recent discovery.
In previous articles, for this medium and other publications, such as the digital magazine Tribuna Comunista, we addressed the issue of lithium, unknown to the majority of the population.
Due to its relevance as a generator of clean energy, experts on lithium deposits spontaneously arise. There are various processing techniques in countries that have used it for a long time. Perhaps in Mexico we are not up to date with the advances in exploration and extraction techniques or in relation to the most advanced infrastructure and machinery; however, the capacity of both mine workers and specialized engineers will solve it.
Where there is no clear and forceful legislation, the deposits of any mineral are in danger of being clandestinely extracted, which would bring greater economic, political, social and diplomatic conflicts. We already know what predatory companies are capable of.
In addition to relying on existing laws, Senator Napoleón Gómez Urrutia suggests that the protection of our resources should be considered as broad as possible, without leaving loopholes that allow legal theft
. We already have experience in the violation of contracts and agreements. Most of the companies that have invested
– Mexican or foreign – had the authorization, overt or covert, of the neoliberal governments.
It is no secret to anyone that mining companies, especially Canadians, have abused the extraction of minerals. They were under the protection of trade agreements and spurious contracts that have left Mexican mining defenseless and especially the worker base.
The 238 companies that operate with foreign investment have achieved extraordinary profits, not only because of the value of the minerals they take, but also because of the little they leave in the country: salaries, taxes, labor benefits and other profits for breach of commitments. We do not know if the quantities of minerals declared are those registered in the official documents. For example, how to truthfully record the amounts of lithium that Chinese companies take to extract it from the clays that they will refine.
American, Canadian, Australian and, more recently, Chinese companies operating in the country have made millions in profits. They have around 177 projects presented and developed by them. For this reason, Senator Gómez Urrutia emphasizes that the law in the sector must go beyond lithium.
The vices accustomed by the foreign companies of the nationalities mentioned must not continue such plunder.
The Mining Law presented by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, endorsed by the Chamber of Deputies, will allow greater protection of lithium deposits – for now under exploration – in Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Jalisco and Michoacán.
The widespread and repetitive assertions that it was not necessary to nationalize lithium are not based on the experience of looting that foreign companies have come forward with. Therefore, the contracts signed with Ganfeng Lithium will undergo a strict review to determine their legality.
The anti-patriotism of opportunists is a reality in the country, and their attacks on the nationalization of lithium and the new provisions of the Mining Law are an obstacle that, sooner or later, will be eliminated. Lithium is a strategic mineral, not because the chief executive and specialists in geology and other earth sciences say so, but because it is a chemical element with which accurate steps will be taken towards the energy transition.
The processing of the mineral will bring benefits for environmental improvement and the use of all the energy resources known to date. We hope that scientific research on this and other mineral resources will grow for the greater benefit of the population.
It seems contradictory, but the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the main and largest labor union in the United States and Canada, in a recent act, sent a statement of solidarity with the Miners’ Union . This meeting was attended by leaders of the Industriall Global Union and the United Steelworkers of those countries.
If the support of a sector of the population supposedly interested in our natural resources is not obtained, at least we do have the solidarity of other foreign workers’ centrals.
