The delegation was addressed by the representative of the Ministry of Mining. He spoke about the issue of economic focus on copper exports. He allayed concerns over copper substitution by stating that it is less likely to be replaced since copper has various applications, which include technology. Unlike commodities that are used in infrastructure development, the demand for copper does not follow the pattern where it increases until it reaches climax and then decline, he asserted. Demand for copper increases with efficiency improvements in the ever developing technology. He also pointed out that copper is not the only commodity where Chile has a competitive advantage but its high demand makes it an obvious choice for production focus. He informed the delegation that Chile is moving away from state ownership in the mining industry towards private-public partnership for the obvious reason that it is difficult for the state owned mining company to grow compared to a private company. This is evidenced by the fact that Codelco used to produce approximately 95 per cent of total national copper production but it currently produces less than 50 per cent. He also alluded to inefficiencies associated with state ownership. The presenter outlined the economic profile of Chile as well as the history of the establishment of the state owned mining company as follows: