Mining and metallurgical operations affiliated with the Cámara Minera de México consumed 12,200 GWh of energy in 2022, down from 12,487 GWh the year before. About 52% of that was electricity and 48% was fuel, mainly diesel and natural gas. The same operations emitted around 10.11 million tonnes of CO2e. CAMIMEX published those figures in its Informe de Sostenibilidad 2023, the fourth edition of that report, which carries 2022 data.
Half the energy bill at a Mexican mine is therefore bought by the liter. Diesel averaged 25.622 pesos per liter nationally on 13 September 2024, on the prices permit holders report under CRE Acuerdo A/041/2018. At a mine that generates its own power, that price sets the cost of electricity at the pit, and it is the number any grid connection or on-site array has to beat.
Which is why the case for changing a mine's energy mix in Mexico is a fuel arbitrage before it is a carbon target. The decision in front of a country manager is whether to spend four hours of site leadership time this budget cycle putting numbers against that arbitrage. Mexico Energy Partners runs that four hours as a free scoping review under its Mining Sustainability Program, and this note sets out what it is for.
Where a Mexican mine's energy money goes
The 52 to 48 split that CAMIMEX reports for 2022 maps almost exactly onto the emissions boundary. Diesel is Scope 1. It moves the haul fleet, runs the drills and feeds any on-site generation. Electricity is Scope 2. It runs the mill, the crushers, ventilation and dewatering. On our read, that division is what makes a single sector average unhelpful for any individual operation.
An open pit tilts toward diesel, because haulage dominates and haulage burns fuel. An underground mine tilts toward electricity, because ventilation and dewatering run continuously whether or not the mine is producing. Two operations of the same tonnage can sit on opposite sides of the split. A decarbonization plan copied from one will misprice the other.
The arithmetic on self-generated power is worth doing before any of it. Diesel carries roughly 10 kWh of heat per liter. A well-loaded genset converts about 35% of that to electricity at the busbar, so call it 3.5 kWh per liter. At 25.622 pesos, fuel alone lands near 7.3 pesos per kWh. Lubricants, filters, overhauls and the genset itself sit on top of that. This is our calculation from the published diesel price and a stated efficiency assumption, not a measured site cost.
The grid connection is the first question
CAMIMEX reported that 42 mining operations produced and consumed 4,636 GWh from clean sources in 2022, equal to 38% of the sector's total energy use, and that 76% of the operations reporting held an autoabasto contract. That last figure matters more than it looks. Autoabasto is a legacy structure written under the framework that preceded the Ley de la Industria Eléctrica of 11 August 2014. A mine whose clean power sits inside one is carrying a contractual tail as well as a price.
For a site with no connection, the question is not which technology to buy. It is the delivered cost of a dedicated line at the required voltage against the delivered cost of generating on site for the life of the reserve. Distance and voltage decide that, and both are site facts, not sector facts. A review that skips them produces a technology shopping list rather than a plan. Our earlier piece on sustainability practices in Mexico's mining sector covers the wider reporting picture these decisions sit inside.
The incentive that already exists
Article 34, fracción XIII of the Ley del Impuesto Sobre la Renta allows machinery and equipment for generating energy from renewable sources, and efficient cogeneration systems, to be deducted at 100% in the year the investment is made. The condition is that the assets stay in operation for at least five consecutive years after that year. The LISR was published in the DOF on 11 December 2013.
Be precise about what this does. It moves the deduction forward. It does not change the pre-tax return on the project, and it does not make a bad project good. What it does change is the after-tax cash profile in year one, which is the year most capital committees are actually arguing about. On our read that is the single fiscal point worth putting in front of a Mexican mine's finance lead, and it is already in force rather than promised.
What the emissions number is for
CAMIMEX put the affiliated sector's eco-efficiency at 0.22 tonnes of CO2e per tonne produced in 2022. That is a denominator a single operation can use. Divide your own emissions by your own production and you have a number that is comparable to the sector, which is more than a percentage reduction target against your own past will ever give you.
What that number is not is a compliance threshold. No Mexican rule required a mine to hit the sector average in 2024. Treat it as a benchmark that tells you whether your energy problem is unusual or ordinary, and size the work accordingly.
What the four-hour review covers
The session works on the operation's own data, not on generic material. It needs twelve months of diesel volumes, twelve months of CFE invoices, an equipment list covering haulage, generation, ventilation and the mill, and the distance from the site to the nearest interconnection point. Without those four inputs the four hours produce opinions.
The output is a ranked list of measures with indicative capex for the site, the split between Scope 1 and Scope 2 that the measures address, and the two or three items that need an engineering study before anyone can commit money. It is a scoping review. It is not a feasibility study, and it does not produce a guaranteed saving, because a saving that has not been measured is not a saving. We run the same format for the automotive industry, so the structure is established rather than built for one client.
Three people need to be in the room. The mine manager, because the constraints are operational. The maintenance lead, because the equipment list is only as good as the person who maintains it. The finance lead, because the deduction under Article 34 and the capex ranking are useless if they are relayed second hand. Four hours of those three people is the real price of the session, and it is worth stating plainly. You can see the wider scope of our mining and metals work before deciding whether that trade is worth making.
Book the four-hour net zero review for your mine
Send twelve months of diesel volumes and CFE invoices, an equipment list covering haulage, generation, ventilation and the mill, and the distance to the nearest interconnection point. Mexico Energy Partners confirms scope, schedules the four hours, and returns a ranked measure list with indicative capex for the site. No saving, incentive eligibility or emissions outcome is promised before the site data has been reviewed.
Sources
- Cámara Minera de México, Informe de Sostenibilidad 2023 (fourth edition, 2022 data), camimex.org.mx. Supports total energy consumption of 12,200 GWh in 2022 against 12,487 GWh in 2021. Also the 52% electricity and 48% fuel split. Also 42 operations producing and consuming 4,636 GWh of clean energy, equal to 38% of total consumption. Also 76% of reporting operations on autoabasto contracts. Also 10.11 million tonnes of CO2e and eco-efficiency of 0.22 tCO2e per tonne produced.
- Infobae México, daily fuel price report for 13 September 2024, national average diesel price of 25.622 pesos per liter, compiled from the prices permit holders report under CRE Acuerdo A/041/2018.
- Ley del Impuesto Sobre la Renta, Article 34 fracción XIII, DOF, 11 December 2013. The 100% deduction for renewable generation equipment and efficient cogeneration, and the five year operating condition.
- Ley de la Industria Eléctrica, DOF, 11 August 2014. The framework that replaced the one under which autoabasto contracts were written.