. The National Chamber of Commerce in Bolivia is not directly involved in mining but has a general interest in the economy of the country and its presentation had to be viewed in that context. . Bolivia is a mining country with the greater stake of the industry owned by the State but there are small private mining companies. . The economy of the country is based on natural resources including hydrocarbons (gas) and mineral resources. . Before 1995, the country's mining industry was predominantly privately owned with a few state owned companies but this was reversed when the Morale's administration took over and embarked on a renationalization drive that led to the establishment of Comibol. . Comibol is in charge of exploiting most minerals of the country. . The structure of the country's mining industry comprises the State, cooperatives and the private companies. Cooperatives were established by the former mine workers. . The mining activity in the country is currently high as a result of the high demand for commodities from countries such as China and the institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast that commodity prices are going to remain high for a long time. This augurs well for the prospects of the country but the Chamber believes that Bolivia is not poised to take full advantage of this favourable economic climate. . The Chamber is pessimistic about mining being predominantly owned by the State. It sited an example of Comibol that had the workforce of 3 000 but had hired 5 000 workers based on political reasons without increasing production. . However, the Chamber believes in the benefits of cooperation with the State and as a result has proposed a public-private alliance to the Morales' administration. . The Chamber believes that the gains realized in the mining industry were not based on good policies but high commodity prices.