Mexican mining and metallurgical production, which includes extraction, processing, smelting and refining of metallic and non-metallic minerals, registered a monthly drop of 0.9% in December 2025, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) announced this Thursday .
According to the Mining and Metallurgical Industry Statistics (EIMM), which provides information on the activity of this sector in order to generate timely indicators, in its annual measurement, production showed a decrease of 7.2% in the last month of 2025.
During the reference period, Inegi indicated that copper registered an increase of 0.3%, while non-coking coal – which is used for the generation of electricity – had a growth of 3.4%, and sulfur increased 5.8% at an annual rate.
On an annual basis, the largest declines in mining and metallurgical production during the cycle were in lead and zinc, each falling by 22.2%. Iron pellets showed a drop of 19.3%, gold 11.5%, fluorite 4.5%, and silver and gypsum each declined by 1.5%.
According to INEGI, Durango stood out in gold production with a 5.8% year-on-year increase, as well as in silver production with an 18.2% increase. The same state also showed positive performance in lead production with a 4.1% year-on-year increase.
San Luis Potosí registered positive figures in copper with 26.9%, Hidalgo in zinc with 3.4%, Colima in iron with 0.5% and Tamaulipas in sulfur production with 37.8% annually.
Mexican mining and metallurgical production closed 2025 with declines in its monthly and annual measurements, amid an economic outlook slowed by the United States’ tariff policy.
In the lead-up to the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) , the country’s mining and metallurgical industry is one of the issues on the negotiating table, especially regarding critical minerals—such as cobalt, copper, fluorite, among others—where Mexico and the United States have agreed to work on a joint plan.
In another action, just on February 12, the Mexican government announced that it had recovered 1,126 mining concessions , equivalent to 889,512 hectares, due to lack of payments or absence of exploration.
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