MINERAL RESOURCES Introduction Before World War II, mining was a major contributor to the Mexican economy account-ing for nearly 10 percent of GNP. At present, however, mining contributes only a meager 1.0 to 1.2 percent of Mexico's GNP, or equivalent to approximately US$320 million. In the determined drive toward industrialization, mining has lagged far behind the energy, chemical, and manufacturing industries. There can be little doubt that Mexican-ization regulations have failed to provide the kind of incentives required to attract the large sums necessary to mount major exploration programs anywhere comparable to those conducted in Canada and Australia during the past 15 years. There is some evidence, however, that foreign mining companies (predominantly Canadian and American) are being attracted to Mexico because of its favorable economic climate and political stability. Fur-thermore, Mexicanization is now considered by some investors to be a guarantee against expropriation. However, Mexican capital is hesitant about investing in commodities like silver and sulfur, both of which have experienced declining prices. The decline in prices is one reason why the country's more traditional mineral products silver, lead, zinc, and sulfur have been growing so slowly in recent years. On the other hand, Mexico is among the leading producers of seven important ores and minerals namely, fluorite, strontium, graphite, antimony, lead, barite, and mercury. Mexican production of metals and minerals over the 1960-70 period is shown in Table 9. The estimated apparent demand in Mexico for several key metals over the 1961-70 pe-riod is indicated in Table 10. There have been several changes in the supply/demand bal-ance for these metals. The demand for copper has increased at about the same rate as production. Planned increases in copper mining capacity during the next few years will increase the amount of exports relative to domestic demand. Since the government sets the price for copper sold on the domestic market, the increase in exports priced at the LME fixing price will change the income tax for some copper producers. The production of zinc in Mexico has been fairly stable, and the rising internal de-mand has reduced the amount available for export. Lead has exhibited a similar supply/ demand trend. Over the 1960-70 period, silver output has remained static. Domestic demand has been increasing steadily so that less and less is available for export. For certain commodities, it is apparent that growth in Mexican industrialization 31