Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
constituted the largest share of exports, with USD 697 million out of a total value of
USD 1.226 billion in 2001 (the contribution of the mining sector was USD 189 million
and the hydrocarbon sector USD 287 million). By 2010, hydrocarbon had become
the largest contributor to exports, with USD 2.942 billion out of USD 6.871 billion
(the share of mining was USD 1.852 billion and manufacturing USD 1.779) (Bolivia
Presidency of the Republic. Mensaje e Informe 2010). While the annual contribution
of the mining sector to the state coffers was only USD 11 million between 1985 and
2005, these incomes are estimated around USD 230 million annually between 2006
and 2008 (García Linera 2008: 11f.).
7.4.2 The current legal mining regime
Bolivian government officials have been announcing a new mining law since the enact-
ment of the Constitution of 2009. The Constitution states that current concessions
would expire and new contracts must be established within one year of the election of
the Executive and Legislative, both of which took place in December 2009 (Bolivia.
Constitution 2009. “Transitional Provisions,'' Eighth, III). Accordingly, the govern-
ment announced that it aims to make adjustments in the sector, confirming the state
as the owner of natural resources and amending the tax and royalties system. Various
government officials further declared that this new law, which has yet to be submitted
to parliament, will oblige all companies in the sector to shift to new contracts, elim-
inate private concessions, revert all territories that do not fulfil the socio-economic
function to the state, and distribute royalties to the communities where extraction is
taking place (FmBolivia 2010).
The Ministry of Labour made further details available in 2011: the new mining
law would reestablish the state-owned mining company COMIBOL and consolidate
five decentralised state companies: the Empresa Boliviana de Recursos Evaporíticos,
the Empresa Minera Huanuni, the Empresa Boliviana de Oro y Piedras Preciosas,
the Empresa Metalúrgica Vinto and the Empresa Metalúrgica Karachipampa. The
control over the benefits, however, would remain in the hands of the national mining
company in order to reinvest them. Finally, by privileging prospection and exploration,
the mining frontier would be intentionally expanded (Página Siete 2011). However,
the new mining law has yet to be made public.
As a result, the latest mining law, known as the Mining Code, dates back to
1997. The Constitution from 2009 is the most recent legal framework on mining that
can currently be analysed. There are a number of other frameworks that must also be
considered: Supreme Decree 28901 of 2006, which renationalised the mining company
Huanuni; Supreme Decree 29117 of 2007, which declared the entire national territory
as federal mining reserve; Supreme Decree No 29459 of 2008, which defines the mining
company Huanuni as a national public and strategic company; and Supreme Decree
No 861 of 2011, which approved an increase of the miners' salaries in Huanuni. Even
though they are not equally situated in the legal hierarchy, all of these legal initiatives
have had a significant political impact. In the following section, the mining law from
1997 shall be compared to the Supreme Decrees from 2006 and onwards, as well as
the Constitution from 2009. Special emphasis will be placed on the ownership and the
role of the state.
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