Slim, reputedly the wealthiest individual in Latin America with net worth in excess of $60 billion, announced plans for extensive mining for gold in Mexico in response to a recent spurt in bullion prices.

Slim's Grupo Carso SAB this year added another project to its portfolio of gold mines, announcing acquisitions and the start of further exploratory operations in the coming months. No date for new operations was specified. Grupo Carso has diverse interests in mining and consumer markets.

The group reported a nine-fold increase in its gold production in 2009 -- a rise that coincided with a 24 percent appreciation in gold spot prices.

Slim, of Lebanese ancestry, has been involved with mining operations for more than two decades. In recent comments he was upbeat about Mexico's economy with predictions of an overall recovery in building and construction industries and a rise in consumer spending.

In a continuation of the 2008 downturn, Mexico's economy contracted more than 6 percent in 2009.

Slim has a 79 percent stake in Carso, which makes up about $6.52 billion of his $56 billion holdings of publicly traded companies, analysts said.

The Carso group gained about 14 percent in Mexico City trading this year, making it the

third-best performer of the six publicly traded Mexican companies controlled by Slim.

Slim argued at a recent New York business conference that a gradual move away from poverty meant that millions of citizens could be joining the consumer market and thus contribute to an economic recovery in Mexico.

Gold production in Mexico is already on the rise. Industry analysts said production last year doubled while gold output in the United States, by contrast, dropped 35 percent.

Mexican gold production is attracting new investment because of legislation and regulatory framework that are seen by the industry as more relaxed than comparable conditions in the United States. Mexican industry analysts said increased production meant more purchases by U.S. corporate consumers was assured.

Mexican gold mining operations have also benefited from cheap labor costs and a salary structure that favors investors and employers, analysts said.

One major obstacle to new investment has been the continuing uncertainty in Mexico's internal security situation and organized crime that have proved to be a disincentive to all except the most seasoned of corporate operators in the country, including Slim's empire.

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