PBI-Mexico accompanied Ejido El Bajio challenges Fresnillo PLC at annual shareholders meeting in London, UK

Published by Brent Patterson on June 4, 2025June 4, 2025

On June 2, the Ejido El Bajío posted: “For the fourth year running, we attended the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting of #FresnilloPLC in London to reiterate to shareholders that the company lies in its reports, evades justice, owes us more than 13 billion pesos, and that the board of directors is aware of everything and says nothing to them.”

Fresnillo shareholders meeting

The Annual General Meeting of Fresnillo PLC was held on May 20 at No. 11 Cavendish Square in London, United Kingdom.

On May 28, El Ciudadano reported:

“During its annual shareholders’ meeting in London, the company denied to investors the existence of these sentences and the expert report that accredits the debt, according to the lawyer of the ejido members, Sergio García Camacho.

García Camacho personally attended the meeting and confronted Alejandro Baillères, majority shareholder, denouncing that the company is deceiving its investors. The intervention generated concern among some shareholders, one of whom asked for the return of his capital. Shortly thereafter, Baillères abruptly canceled the meeting

The conflict has escalated internationally. An initiative to criminally sanction companies that violate human rights outside the United Kingdom is being discussed in the British Parliament. In the case of El Bajío, the struggle of the ejidatarios has left a balance of three people murdered, one disappeared, and twelve peasants arbitrarily detained.”

Photo: Lawyer Sergio García Camacho and Jesús Thomas González from the Ejido del Baijo during their visit to London, UK.

“Respect the court rulings”

On May 28, PBI-Mexico had also posted on social media: “PBI is concerned about the obstacles faced by the Ejido El Bajío in obtaining justice through the enforcement of the rulings they have won in their defense of their land and territory. We call on the competent authorities to respect the court rulings.”

On May 29, SourceMaterial, “an award-winning team of experienced reporters using in-depth journalism to uncover stories that hold the powerful to account”, in partnership with the British daily newspaper The Times, explained:

“One of the UK’s largest mining groups has been told it should pay as much as $630 million to a Mexican community whose land it illegally mined for gold, according to documents.

Fresnillo learned of the sum in January [2025] from a court-appointed independent review, which followed a court ruling that it should return gold it mined or pay people in the area the equivalent value.

The London-listed group, worth more than £8 billion and majority-owned by Mexico’s Baillères family, is yet to mention the review in stock market disclosures, prompting concerns that it is withholding market-sensitive information from shareholders.”

Threats to defenders

SourceMaterial also reports:

“Since 2013 it has been blocked from mining gold from the Soledad-Dipolos open-pit mine after a court found that it did not have the legal authorisation. The following year, a Mexican agrarian court ruled that Fresnillo’s local wholly owned subsidiary should return the gold it had extracted or a sum of equal value.

The dispute has taken place against a violent backdrop. El Bajío say that in 2021, one community leader was found dead along with a list of names of other community activists, a message that was interpreted as a hitlist.

In 2018, another opponent of the mining operations in the community, Raul Ibarra de la Paz, was murdered and his wife, Noemi Lopez, disappeared. There is no evidence tying Fresnillo or its subsidiary Penmont to these events. Activists opposing other large-scale multinational mining operations have also been targeted in Mexico.”

UK visit

PBI-UK has noted: “In the week of May 12, 2025, human rights defender Jesús Thomas González came to London to speak out against the environmental destruction and trampling of rights by extractive industries. They called on the UK government to act now and pass a mandatory due diligence law. PBI UK facilitated meetings with civil servants, parliamentarians and civil society organisations so that the defenders could speak directly with decision-makers, catalysing actions to support them and their campaigns.”

PBI-UK highlights: “Jesús visited the UK alongside the community’s lawyer [Sergio García Camacho]. Together they met with parliamentarians and also the Head of the Central America Desk and the Desk Officer for Mexico at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). They urged for the UK to support members of the El Bajío community, many of  whom face grave risks due to their opposition to the mine.”

Jesús spoke at a PBI-UK organized public forum on May 15. They add: “The defenders remained in town for the Fresnillo PLC board meeting [on May 20].”

Photo: “PBI UK Advocacy Manager Christina Challis accompanies Jesús and Sergio to a meeting at the FCDO.”

Accompaniment

Peace Brigades International has provided security and advocacy support to members of the Ejido El Bajío due to the ongoing threats they face.

For more about the struggle of the Ejido El Bajío, see their website and their Instagram, Facebook and X social media accounts.

Additional reading: PBI-Mexico accompanied Ejido El Bajío stands in solidarity with Ejido Carrizalillo in struggle against Canadian mining company (PBI-Canada, April 20, 2025).

Additional background on Fresnillo PLC

Mexico-based Industrias Peñoles, S.A.B. de C.V. appears to be the largest shareholder of Fresnillo PLC, owning about 75 percent of the shares in the company.

Industrias Peñoles in turn appears to be owned by Grupo BAL. The president of Grupo BAL is Alejandro Baillères.

On May 16, 2025, Fresnillo stated: “Fresnillo plc has eight operating mines, all of them in Mexico – Fresnillo, Saucito, Juanicipio, Ciénega, Herradura, Soledad-Dipolos1, Noche Buena and San Julián (Veins and Disseminated Ore Body) and four advanced exploration projects – Orisyvo, Rodeo, Guanajuato and Tajitos as well as a number of other long term exploration prospects. Fresnillo plc has mining concessions and exploration projects in Mexico, Peru and Chile. Fresnillo plc’s goal is to maintain the Group’s position as the world’s largest primary silver company and Mexico’s largest gold producer. 1 Operations at Soledad-Dipolos are currently suspended.”