How to buy a gold mine in Mexico

Buying a mine in Mexico is a well-trodden path — the country has been one of the world’s leading silver producers for five centuries and hosts operations from the largest global miners down to family-held producers. But the system differs from the U.S. and Canada in ways that trip up first-time buyers. This guide, written by the team marketing the Charay gold–silver project in Sinaloa, covers what actually matters.

This is general information, not legal advice. Engage Mexican mining counsel before transacting.

1. Understand what a concession is

Mexican mineral rights are federal. A mining concession is a government-granted title over defined coordinates, recorded in the Public Registry of Mining (Registro Público de Minería), conferring the exclusive right to explore and exploit the minerals within it. Once registered it is transferable, mortgageable and enforceable against third parties — economically it behaves like real property. It is not a self-staked claim: there is no staking over someone else’s titled ground, and priority disputes are rare on clean titles.

Tenure changed in 2023. Concessions granted before Mexico’s mining-law reform run 50 years from registration; new concessions run 30 years and are allocated by tender. Long-dated pre-reform titles — like Charay’s, expiring 2041–2054 — are a shrinking class, which is worth pricing.

2. Structure the ownership correctly

Concessions must be held by a Mexican individual or a Mexican-incorporated entity — but that entity may be 100% foreign-owned. The standard structure is a Mexican subsidiary (typically an S.A. de C.V.) holding title, owned by the foreign parent. In an acquisition you either buy the concessions into your Mexican entity (asset deal) or buy the shares of the company holding them (share deal); each has different tax and liability profiles your counsel will weigh.

3. Remember the surface is separate

A concession grants mineral rights, not surface rights. The surface is held by private owners or by ejidos (agrarian communities), and access is secured through temporary occupation or easement agreements. These agreements — their term, scope, counterparties and standing — are core diligence items. A property with decades of settled surface and community relationships transacts very differently from one where those conversations haven’t started.

4. Pay for data, not hectares

Area is nearly meaningless as a value driver. What prices a project is the quality and independence of its record: drilled grade and true width, QA/QC and check assays, metallurgical test work, permits, infrastructure, and — rarest of all — documented production. A 380-hectare property with 27 core holes, ISO 17025 check assays and mill records is a fundamentally different asset from 10,000 raw hectares of prospective ground.

5. Run diligence in the right order

Efficient buyers sequence it: (a) registry extract confirming title, holder and freedom from liens; (b) concession good standing — semiannual mining duties paid and annual assessment-work reports filed; (c) the technical record — drill database, assay certificates, QP reports, metallurgy; (d) surface and community agreements; (e) permit status for the intended operation (environmental authorizations through SEMARNAT; explosives through SEDENA; water through CONAGUA); (f) tax and corporate standing of the holder if buying shares. Items (a) and (b) are cheap and fast — do them first.

6. Close it properly

Concession transfers are formalized in a public deed before a Mexican notary and take effect against third parties on registration in the Public Registry of Mining. Typical sequence: confidentiality agreement → letter of intent with exclusivity → diligence → definitive agreement with conditions precedent → notarization and registration. With a single, unencumbered corporate holder and organized documentation, competent counsel can move from LOI to closing in a few months; fragmented ownership or registry defects are what stretch timelines.

7. Budget the full picture

Beyond the purchase price: notary and registration costs, ongoing semiannual duties per hectare, surface agreement payments, and — if you intend to operate — permitting and restart capital. On the revenue side, Mexico’s mining fiscal regime (income tax plus special mining duties) is well understood and stable enough that every major has modeled it; your advisors will have current rates.