Vulcan's Mexico mine to be decreed nature reserve if compensation talks fail, president says (updated)

Vulcan Materials Co

20/10/2023 16:24

(Updates with additional detail from conference)
       MEXICO CITY, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The land where a mine
owned by U.S. construction company Vulcan Materials  VMC.N  is
located in Mexico will become a nature reserve by decree if the
firm does not accept the government's offer to buy the firm out,
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday.
    The president has accused Vulcan, which extracts limestone
in southern Mexico, of environmental damage, which the company
denies.
    "If there's no answer from (Vulcan), if they don't want to
help, that will be the decision," Lopez Obrador said. "It will
simply be declared a nature reserve by decree."
        The president added that Mexico was offering 6 billion 
pesos ($328.32 million) to 7 billion pesos ($383.04 million) for
the land.
  
        "A court ruling will give them 6 billion, 7 billion
pesos and we'll issue the decree to allocate the whole area to
environmental protection. Nothing will be able to be built," he
added.
  
        
  
($1 = 18.2750 Mexican pesos)

 (Reporting by Raul Cortes; Editing by Isabel Woodford)
 ((Kylie.Madry@thomsonreuters.com;))