According to Dr. Salas, mining in Mexico is overregulated by the government and that could be an impediment to foreign investment. Several members of the mission, however, felt this was not an overwhelming problem and might just be a matter of perspective. Understanding the regulations could be difficult, but there is help at hand. The database consists of Mexican environmental laws at federal, state and local levels. In addition to forms that can be downloaded, the database will facilitate e-commerce and connections with the appropriate people.
Land tenure is a serious problem, pitting the farmers against the miners.
Salas is optimistic, however, that this problem will be solved. In the meantime, there are 53 foreign-owned companies operating mines in Sonora. Apparently, they are willing to live with some uncertainty because of the great potential that lies beneath the ground. Some of the group were bussed to a gold mine, others to a wollastonite mine. Wollastonite is an industrial mineral, used as a structural filler or component of plastics and cement.