MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's miners on Wednesday asked the U.S. government to consider their sector in talks over the reopening of key areas of the Mexican and U.S. economies once quarantine measures imposed over the coronavirus outbreak are gradually repealed.
Talks are ongoing both domestically and internationally in North America over how to re-open supply chains among the highly integrated economies of the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Mexican mining companies massively scaled back operations in early April under emergency provisions set out by the government obliging "non-essential" sectors to suspend activities.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said, though, that companies in the automotive sector should resume operations in tandem with U.S. counterparts so as to avoid disruptions in highly integrated North American supply chains.
Writing to the U.S. ambassador in Mexico, Christopher Landau, the Mexican Mining Chamber (Camimex) said its activities were also vital to various supply chains in the region.
"For the good of the Mexican and the U.S. economies, we ask to keep us in mind in your conversations with authorities and representatives of our government," said Camimex head, Fernando Alanis, in a letter to Landau.
"The mining industry is a major exporter of metals to the United States, directly and indirectly, via steel, harnesses and the entire manufacturing chain," Alanis said in the letter published on his Twitter account.
Camimex represents the largest companies operating in Mexico's mining industry, including Grupo Mexico (MX:GMEXICOB), Minera Autlan (MX:AUTLANB), Industrias Penoles (MX:PEOLES) and Penasquito, a unit of Newmont (N:NEM).