The hegemonic development discourse continues to promote mining as an activity that generates progress despite the considerable evidence to the contrary. The article analyzes Grupo Mexico’s history, the largest mining consortium in the country, as part of the power elite. It shows how it achieved a monopoly of the leading copper deposits in the north of the country thanks to its alliances with the Mexican State. Later on, we present the cartography of the expansion of its operations in the north of the country, including the opening of controversial mining projects in strategic areas for biodiversity conservation such as the Sea of Cortés, the Baja California peninsula and, the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Michoacán. Therefore, it is argued that it is important to consider companies’ environmental and social records when evaluating mining concessions’ renewal or revocation.
