PhosMex Corp., Santa Barbara, Calif., said Jan. 24 that it has received the first coastal mineral mining concession in the Pacific Ocean ever granted by the Mexican government. This concession, granted for the next fifty years, covers 100 square miles. This new type of mining claim was made possible due to a recent change in the Mexican coastal mining law.
PhosMex says the concession contains 250 million mt tons of phosphate ore (P2O5), which in today’s market is worth over $12 billion. The phosphate rock deposit occurs over a wide area in waters approximately 120 feet deep in continental shelf coastal zones of the Mexican State of Baja del Sur de California. The deposit is located 10 nautical miles west of San Juanico. The phosphate-bearing formations crop out both onshore and offshore on both the east and west coasts and in the interior of the Baja peninsula. For the most part, the onshore average phosphate content is sub-commercial, due to a high degree of contamination. However, the offshore deposits have much more attractive ore accumulations that are of a higher grade than found onshore. PhosMex puts the quality at 5-20 percent phosphorus pentoxide (P205).
The company notes that research on the deposits dates back to the 1960s. What is different today is that technological improvements have made deeper offshore exploration and dredging commercially attractive. It believes with current technology and the current price of phosphate, an offshore dredging operation will be very profitable in today’s market, particularly given the location of this project and the markets this deposit can serve. PhosMex cites the possibility to supply phos rock to existing facilities in Mexico. It also notes the increasing demand for phosphates in the rest of Latin America.
PhosMex is currently working to partner with a mining company that can develop this resource. For more information, contact Richard Holmes, PhosMex secretary and treasurer at 704-442-5407.