Mexico: SEMARNAT Formally Bans Mining Procedures in Federal Natural Protected Areas

On July 20, 2026, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, or “SEMARNAT”) published in the Federal Official Gazette (Diario Oficial de la Federación, or “DOF”) the Agreement Regarding the Handling of Procedures Related to Works and Activities for the Exploration, Exploitation, or Processing of Minerals or Substances in Federally Administered Natural Protected Areas (the “Agreement”).

This administrative instrument consolidates and formalizes the prohibition on mining activities within federally administered Natural Protected Areas (Áreas Naturales Protegidas, or “ANPs”), with immediate effects for mining concession holders, project proponents, and the environmental authorities themselves.

The Agreement is grounded in the reform published in the DOF on May 8, 2023, through the Decree amending, adding, and repealing various provisions of the Mining Law (Ley de Minería), the National Waters Law (Ley de Aguas Nacionales), the General Law on Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente, or “LGEEPA”), and the General Law for the Prevention and Integrated Management of Waste (Ley General para la Prevención y Gestión Integral de los Residuos, or “LGPGIR”), regarding mining and water concessions.

Among other measures, that reform incorporated the express prohibition set forth in the last paragraph of Article 46 of the LGEEPA on carrying out works and activities for the exploration, exploitation, and processing of minerals or substances within ANPs.

This framework is further reinforced by the ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación, or “SCJN”), published in 2026, which held that the Decree reforming mining and water concessions (establishing that such concessions, as well as their extensions, may only be granted through public tender) does not violate the principle of non-retroactivity of the law.

The SCJN precedent establishes that the regulatory clauses contained in concession titles do not constitute vested rights and may be modified in the public interest.

Likewise, in Amparo en Revisión (Direct Appeal for Constitutional Protection) 498/2025, the Court addressed the challenge to provisions of the Mining Law, the National Waters Law, the LGPGIR, and Article 107 Bis of the LGEEPA, analyzing arguments of legal certainty, legitimate expectations, due process, and non-retroactivity.

Express Prohibitions for Public Officials

The Agreement imposes a categorical prohibition: public officials of SEMARNAT’s administrative units and decentralized bodies may not grant authorizations, permits, registrations, or licenses for carrying out works and activities for the exploration, exploitation, or processing of minerals or substances in federally administered ANPs, pursuant to the last paragraph of Article 46 of the LGEEPA.

Similarly, it is prohibited to authorize the final disposal of mining and metallurgical waste in ANPs, wetlands, riverbeds, and federal zones of national waters, in compliance with the third paragraph of Article 17 of the LGPGIR.

Environmental Impact Assessment: Independence from Mining Concessions

The Agreement establishes that environmental authorizations constitute an administrative procedure independent of mining concessions.

Accordingly, the prohibition on authorizing environmental impact projects involving works for the exploration, exploitation, or processing of minerals in ANPs applies to all concession holders, including those whose concessions were granted prior to May 9, 2023. This provision is supported by SCJN case law, which has determined that the validity of a concession title is a legal situation distinct from the initiation of a new administrative procedure, which must be subject to the laws in force at the time new permits are requested.

Binding Role of CONANP

A significant innovation of the Agreement is the delegation of authority to the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas, or “CONANP”). When an Environmental Impact Assessment application relating to mining works is received (Article 28, Section III of the LGEEPA), the receiving unit must immediately notify CONANP, which will issue a binding technical report determining whether or not the works have an impact on one or more federally administered ANPs.

Where works and activities located outside the ANP cause or may cause an impact on it, CONANP must supplement its report with a technical-legal study justifying such impact, which will likewise be binding for the resolution of the application.

The head of CONANP is further delegated the authority to supervise and monitor strict compliance with the prohibitions set forth in the Agreement, and may request technical and operational assistance from the environmental sector.

Transitional Regime: Deadlines and Obligations

The Agreement enters into force on the business day following its publication in the DOF (i.e., July 21, 2026) and sets forth the following relevant transitional provisions:

• Pending applications. Environmental impact assessment applications pending as of the effective date must be resolved in accordance with the laws in force and the Agreement itself.
• Notice to CONANP. Pending environmental impact assessment applications must be notified to CONANP within a period not exceeding fifteen business days from the effective date of the Agreement.
• Article 107 Bis of the LGEEPA program. Persons holding environmental impact authorizations for mining activities in ANPs granted prior to May 8, 2023, who have not submitted the restoration program referred to in Article 107 Bis of the LGEEPA, have a period of fifteen business days from the effective date of the Agreement to initiate the corresponding procedure before SEMARNAT.
• For mining concession holders. Regardless of the date on which the concession was granted, it is not possible to obtain new environmental authorizations for exploration, exploitation, or processing projects involving minerals within federal ANPs. Holders with authorizations predating May 8, 2023 must comply with the Article 107 Bis of the LGEEPA program within the fifteen-business-day period.
• For project proponents with pending applications. Pending applications will be evaluated in accordance with the new Agreement, and CONANP will participate in the process on a binding basis.
• For the mining industry generally. The Agreement reinforces the paradigm shift driven by the 2023 reform, now backed by SCJN case law confirming the constitutionality of the new regime. The express separation between mining concessions and environmental authorizations forecloses arguments based on vested rights derived from prior concession titles.
• For the federal environmental sector. CONANP assumes a central role as the technical oversight body and issuer of binding opinions in all environmental impact assessment procedures involving mining activities with potential effects on ANPs.

Conclusion

The Agreement represents the definitive administrative implementation of the prohibition on mining in federal Natural Protected Areas, closing the cycle initiated by the May 2023 legislative reform and reinforced by the SCJN’s 2026 case law.

Mining sector companies with projects or applications linked to ANPs should urgently assess their legal position and comply with the transitional obligations within the established deadlines.