DECREE DE18 DE JANEIRO DE 2000.

Authorizes the company COMINCO BRASIL LTD., to establish branch in the Federative Republic of Brazil, and gives other arrangements.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, in the use of the attribution that confers you the art. 84, inciso IV, of the Constitution, and in view of the provisions of art. 64 of Decree-law No. 2,627 of September 26, 1940 held by art. 300 of Law No. 6,404 of December 15, 1976, and what is stated in the MDIC Case No. 52700-000073/99-30,

DECRETA:

Art. 1º It is the company COMINCO BRASIL LTD., based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, authorised to function in Brazil, through the COMINCO subsidiary BRASIL LTD., having as a social object the mining and industry and trade of ores, having been highlighted the capital of R$ 12,500.00 (twelve thousand and real five hundred) for the performance of its operations in the national territory, obliging to comply fully with the laws and regulations in force or to come into force over the object of the present entitlement.

Art. 2º Stay still established the following obligations:

I-the company COMINCO BRASIL LTD., is obliged to have permanently a legal representative in Brazil, together with the subsidiary COMINCO BRASIL LTD., with full and unlimited powers to handle any issues and resolve them definitively, may be in demand and receive initial citation by the society ;

II-all of the acts practising in Brazil will be subject to the laws and the Brazilian courts, without in any time allowed the company to claim any exception, founded on its Statutes ;

III-society will not be able to perform in Brazil activities contained in its Statute veded to foreign societies and can only exercise those dependent on prior approval of government body, under the conditions authorized ;

IV-will depend on approval by the Brazilian government any change in the Statutes of the Company, which involves changing the conditions and rules set out in this authorization ;

V-published the authorization act, is the company obligated to arrange the filing in the Commercial Junta of the federative unit where to locate, from the leaves of the Official Journal of the Union and the documents that have instructed the application of this permit ;

VI-to the closure of each social year, you must present to the Commercial Junta of the federative unit where it is located, for annotation in the records, sheet of the Official Journal of the Union, the State or the Federal District, as per the case, and of newspaper of great circulation, containing the compulsory publications by force of art. 70 of Decree-law No. 2,627 of September 26, 1940 held by art. 300 of Law No. 6,404 of December 15, 1976 ;

VII-the infraction of any of the obligations, for which it is not comprised special penalty, will be punished, considering the seriousness of the lack, with cassation of the authorization.

Art. 3º This Decree shall enter into force on the date of its publication.

Brasilia, January 18, 2000 ; 179º of Independence and 112º of the Republic.

FERNANDO HENRIQUE CARDOSO

Alcides Lopes Tacks