Hundreds of years before Christ, many cultures that inhabited the area near the Andean cordillera used copper. They developed basic metallurgy that allowed them to exploit and work this metal, and they even created alloys. During the colonial period, copper mining remained a small industry. In 1810, the year of independence, Chile produced 19,000 tons of copper. Between 1810 and 1900, Chile produced 2 million tons of copper and was, for a while, the world’s top producer and exporter. Nevertheless, the end of the 19th century saw the start of a period of decline due to the great impact of saltpetre that monopolized both interest and investment, together with the depletion of high grade deposits. In 1897, just 21,000 tons of copper were produced. In the early 20th century, many American firms made large investments in the El Teniente and Chuquicamata mines. Until then, our country accounted for a small share of large–scale copper mining. Then, in 1951, the Washington agreement gave Chile control of 20% of its copper production, allowing the government to significantly boost its participation in the copper industry. In 1955, the Senate passed a series of laws to guarantee a minimum income for the Chilean State and encourage large companies to invest. On 5 May of the same year, the Copper Department was created to monitor and participate in the international copper market. CHILENIZATION In 1966, Law No 16,425, authorized the creation of mixed ownership companies involving the Chilean state and foreign copper producers, with the Chilean government holding at least 25% of the ore bodies in foreign companies’ hands. In 1967, the El Teniente, Chuquicamata and Salvador mines became mixed companies, with Codelco taking over 51% ownership. The remaining 49% went to the Braden Copper Company, in El Teniente’s Case, and Anaconda Copper Company, in the case of Chuquicamata, and Salvador. In 1967, 25% of Andina and Exótica were taken over by Codelco with the remaining 75% of Andina going to the Cerro Corporation and 75% of Exótica going to Anaconda. NATIONALIZATION In 1971, with an amendment to Art. 10 of the Chilean constitution, copper was nationalized. A transitory law established that in the national interest and as part of exercising the State’s inalienable and sovereign interest to freely dispose of natural resources and wealth, the foreign companies making up Chile’s large–scale copper industry became the exclusive property of Chile. With this constitutional change, all foreign copper producers operating in Chile were nationalized. On April 1st 1976, with Decree Law No.1,350 the Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile, Codelco Chile was created. The company brought together existing deposits into a single, legally constituted mining, manufacturing and commercial company with its own equity, of indefinite duration, dealing with the Government through the Ministry of Mining. SEWELL, WORLD HERITAGE On 13 July 2006, Sewell, the city of stairs, became a World Heritage site. To great acclaim and applause, the UNESCO world heritage committee approved its inscription in its 30th meeting, in Lithuanian capital Vilnius. This achievement was the result of joint efforts that began in 1998 by Codelco, the National Monuments Council (Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales), the Ministry of Foreign Relations, National Assets and Culture (Bienes Nacionales y de Cultura) and the administration of the Sixth Region (Intendencia de la VI Región). Sewell, a city founded in 1906 by American William Braden to house workers of the El Teniente Mine, became the property of the whole world. Sewell became Chile’s fifth world’s heritage site along with the Easter Island, the Humberstone saltpetre office, Chiloe’s churches and the city of Valparaíso. As such, it became protected by various world organizations to preserve it and disseminate information about it as part of our cultural heritage. In order to celebrate this event, in 2006 Codelco undertook and supported various cultural activities around Sewell. Among these were workshops organized by Codelco in the National Library to obtain memories about Sewell that saw 80 Sewelinos gather in Santiago. In July 2006, also in the National Library, the documentary “Sewell, tan cerca del cielo”, by Sebastian Dominguez and Mario Lübert was launched, which relates aspects of the lives of those that inhabited the city of stairs. In October, Codelco hosted the exhibition “Sewell, World Heritage” that showed the development of the heritage nomination project, from Sewell’s declaration as a national monument in 1998 until the UNESCO committee decision. History as guarantee The mining camp of El Teniente Division is located in the Andean cordillera 2,140 meters above sea level and 150 kilometres from Santiago. Its stair–based construction creates the impression of a city that was poured down the hill. Its buildings and facilities are a sign of quality and efficiency, based on materials like wood and steel that still remain after 100 years. At its peak, Sewell housed 15,000 people comprising miners and their families. In the 1950s, its hospital was noted as the most modern in South America, as was its gym, which was called the Sports Palace. Its cinema, open to all the community, showed films that had not been shown in Santiago, and on its stage artists and shows of international renown were performed.