DFL 1 to establish a combined, coordinated and systematised text of Decree Law N° 1.349 of 1976, which creates the Chilean Copper Commission

In 1976 Decree Law N° 1349 was signed to create the Chilean Copper Commission (COCHILCO). This decree was the object of several modifications. As a result, in 1987 a new decree with the force of law (DFL) was issued by the government to combine the amendments in one text.  

COCHILCO is a functionally decentralised body with its own legal personality and assets. Its purpose is to serve as a specialised technical adviser to the Government in matters related to copper and its by-products and to all metallic and non-metallic mineral substances, with the exception of coal and hydrocarbons. Additionality, COCHILCO protects the State’s interests in its mining companies, through the supervision and evaluation of their management and investments.

Specifically, the Corporation has the following functions:

1. Advise the Government, through the Ministry of Mining, in policy formulation for the development and exploitation of copper, the benefit of its minerals and by-products.
2. Gather, study and prepare the information and specialised background that is needed for the adequate and effective participation of the State of Chile in organisations, conferences and international meetings related to copper and its by-products, and to represent it.
3. Propose to the Government, through the Ministry of Mining, the formulation of the general policies necessary to protect national interests in the commercialisation of copper and its by-products, especially with regard to price regulation, maintenance or expansion of their markets, better distribution of them, or to counteract any action that tends to unilaterally control or restrict them.
4. Promote the development of the production and export of manufactured copper products and their by-products, carrying out studies and research on the new uses of their manufacture and on their marketing conditions.
5. Promote studies on geological and technological research in mining, metallurgical processes, or industrialisation of copper and its by-products, in Chile or abroad. 
6. Promote the training and improvement of technical and administrative workers.
7. Supervise compliance with the general policies established by the Government in matters related to copper and its by-products.
8. Determine the reference prices of metallic and non-metallic substances and their by-products, with the exception of coal and hydrocarbons.

Further, COCHILCO has a website in which they have published relevant information about the Chilean industry, including its main regulations, market statistics, mining revenue, and technical reports.

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