Production Trends of Patents Granted in Mexican Mining, 1970-2020

The Mexican mining sector represents one of the most productive chains in the country and the boom in this activity has boosted manufacturing nationwide. Four production periods are identified in the history of this sector: 1) precious metal extraction; 2) development and implementation of new methods of extraction, processing and smelting of metals; 3) mining industrialization through the exploitation of non-metallic minerals; and 4) the opening of the national economy with the presence of transnational corporations. This article focuses on the last stage (1970-2020), which is dedicated to the application of scientific-technological systems that gives way to the creation of patents. The objective is to carry out an analysis of trends in the granting of patents in Mexican mining to know the level of technological development translated into patents at the national level. It is used a patentometric analysis, based on the information contained in the Lens patent database, which considers temporal, authority, sectorization and classification indicators. The general results show the current production dynamics in patent granting and the presence of actors that contribute to the development of this work.