Corporación Minera de Bolivia

The Corporación Minera de Bolivia (Mining Corporation of Bolivia), also known as COMIBOL, is a major Bolivia n state company that oversees the nation's mining operations.

In the decades after the Bolivian National Revolution, it became the country's largest and most important public company. After a period of inactivity following the 1985 Bolivian economic crisis, COMIBOL was revived in 2006 and today holds an important, if diminished, place in the country's economy.[1]

History

COMIBOL was created by Supreme Declaration 3196 on October 2, 1952.

It was founded ahead of the nationalization of the Patiño, Hochschild, and Aramayo mines on October 31 by the government of Víctor Paz Estenssoro, in the context of the Bolivian National Revolution. The businesses of the three nationalized mining groups were initially reorganized into 16 mining companies exploiting tin, lead, silver, zinc, tungsten, copper, and gold, with COMIBOL overseeing the administration of these operations.[1][2]

COMIBOL was the principal Bolivian public company for many decades after its creation, being the country's main source of foreign currency and its biggest employer. It played an important role in the capitalization of YPFB from the 1950s to '70s. As of November 2014, COMIBOL was the country's third-largest public company based on revenue, after YPFB and the Empresa Metalúrgica de Vinto.[3]

Companies

In 2017, the Gerencia Nacional Recursos Evaporíticos was moved from under COMIBOL and the Ministry of Mining, coming under the purview of the Empresa Pública Nacional Estratégica de, which depends on the Ministry of Energy.[10]

• Empresa Minera Huanuni
• Empresa Minera Colquiri
• Empresa Minera Corocoro
• Empresa Metalúrgica Vinto
• Empresa Metalúrgica de Karachipampa
• Empresa Boliviana del Oro
• Empresa Minera San Jose
• Dirección de Medio Ambiente - DIMA[9]

Huanuni

Due to its high mineral content, Huanuni was the only COMIBOL mine that did not close in 1985, after the tin market crisis and Supreme Decree 21060. It was exploited as a joint venture until 2006, when it was retaken by COMIBOL.

A large part of the technology used in Huanuni is from the 1970s. Owing to the richness of its minerals, it is more mechanized than other mines in Bolivia. The government is constructing a new refinery in Dolores, near Huanuni, that should improve the efficiency and profitability of the Empresa Minera Huanuni. The high price of tin has increased interest in exploitation within the mine. Today, there are around 4,500 workers at Huanuni, including 2,000 on the surface. In 2006, competition over the riches veins almost led to a fight between cooperative miners and those employed by the state. In the end, the government opted to hired the cooperative workers as employees, increasing COMIBOL's payroll.[11]