2. SMALL MINING IN CHILEThe characterization of the small mine at a global level does not have universal and uniform parameters. Even in Chile, a standard that defines it unambiguously has not been established. Similarly, small-scale mining can be divided into two segments, small-scale mining itself and a segment called artisanal small-scale mining. Furthermore, there is no clear definition that distinguishes these two segments, but it can be noted that the artisan sector is the most precarious and informal ones. For tax purposes only, artisanal mining is defined as a business with up to five dependents. National-level legal definitions of small-scale mining are shown in Table 1: Table 1Legal definitions of small-scale and artisanal miningSernageominDefinition based. a Workers and hours worked Mining CodeDefinition based on the Workers' Income Tax Act (Artisanal Mining)Definition based on ENAMID WorkersDefinition based on productionLess than 80 workersLess than 12 workersLess than 5 workers It is that sector of producers, current or potential, who sell or benefit individually up to 10,000 tonnes of minerals or their equivalent in mineral products monthly Less than 200,000 hours worked Source: Sernageomin, Mining Code, Enami and SII In this context other countries, such as Chile, use various parameters to classify small mines, such as: level of production, amount of mineral ownership, invested capital or number of workers, and there are other nations that simply do not differentiate it from medium and large-scale mining. ....Average Copper Price (US$/Lib) 3.23 3.15 2.34 3.42 4.00 3.61 Gold Production (kilograms) 14,340 13,216 12,775 6,114 6,385 7,243 Silver Production (kilograms) 330,501 367,539 378,861 77,696 98,399 105,367 Production of iron (thousands of tonnes) 0 0 0 0 1,749.1 3,244.2 Production of zinc (thousands of tonnes) 36 .4 40.5 27.8 27.6 36.6 26.7 Production of lead (thousands of tonnes) 1.3 3.9 1.5 0.7 0.8 0.4Number of employees in direct copper extraction 6,402 6,777 5.31 7 5,596 6,386 6,556Total number of total employees (direct and subcontracted ) 48,997 50,210 53,613 54,286 60,453 67,928Source: SernageominIn terms of copper production, medium-sized mining in 2012 produced 307,419 tonnes of copper, a figure 0.62% higher than in 2011 (Figure 8). This production represented 5.6% of the country's total production (Figure 9).