COMPANY ACTIVITY

Mexican mine approved at Texas border town

TEXAS state authorities have approved the re-permitting of Mexican junior Dos Republicas' controv...

Justin Niessner

The mine in Texas’ Maverick county is capable of producing 2.7 million tonnes per annum of coal and plans to ship all its output across the nearby border to Mexico.

The permit issued yesterday from the Railroad Commission of Texas will allow Dos Republicas to extract more than 11Mt, effectively doubling the current scope of the now-dormant mine.

Dos Republicas said Eagle Pass would operate for about seven or eight years, create 60 jobs and stimulate the economy.

The company also said the mine’s thermal coal used at power plants in the neighboring Mexican state of Coahuila would benefit Maverick county since the entire region shared the same power grid.

Local residents have argued that the environmental impact was unacceptable. A petition signed by thousands of Maverick country residents raised concern about coal pollution in the Rio Grande River and noted that Mexcian coal plant emission standards were insufficiently strict.

Community resistence to the re-development of the mine has had little impact, particularly after the influencial Kickapoo tribe officially withdrew its oppostion in May last year.

Dos Republicas is a San Antonio-based subsidiary of Mexcian company Minera del Norte, which in turn is part of steel giant Grupo Acerero del Norte.

The company said last year it had decided to use an experienced US mining company to operate Eagle Pass.

TOPICS:

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

editions

ESG Mining Company Index: Benchmarking the Future of Sustainable Mining

The ESG Mining Company Index report provides an in-depth evaluation of ESG performance of 61 of the world's largest mining companies. Using a robust framework, it assesses each company across 9 meticulously weighted indicators within 6 essential pillars.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2024 (feat. Opaxe data)

A comprehensive review of exploration trends and technologies, highlighting the best intercepts and discoveries and the latest initial resource estimates.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Future Fleets Report 2024

The report paints a picture of the equipment landscape and includes detailed profiles of mines that are employing these fleets

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Digitalisation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations that use digitalisation technology to drive improvements across all areas of mining production