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Tin is a strategic mineral without which the automotive, military, and food industries of the 20th century would not exist. One of the supply centers for this raw material is Bolivia. According to José Núñez, engineer, 92.5% of the inflow of foreign currency in Bolivia comes from minerals, and 70% from tin. During World War II, tin had strategic importance. According to researcher Javier Salinas, several ships that transported Bolivian tin to the European market were targets of war by Germany. During the war, Bolivia was the only supplier of tin for the "Allied cause" because the deposits on the Asian continent were occupied by Japan. As tin was exported as concentrate, Bolivia transferred the surplus earnings that should have remained in Bolivia to the countries where the foreign smelters were based. The economic drainage was increased with the payment of maritime and land freight, impurities, foundry expenses and others. The export of this mineral, which was then of strategic nature, also had an impact on the stock markets, the industries of first world countries, and the countries that supply it.

The existence of smelters in Bolivia is connected to the destination of the surplus of the earnings derived from this mineral. For this reason, after the establishment of the "Empresa Nacional de Fundiciones ENAF" in 1966, several smelters in Europe and the United States gradually closed down, such as "Williams Harvey", "Capper Pass & Song Ltd", "Wah Chang" and others that reduced their smelting capacity until finally closing, due to lack of Bolivian concentrate. These documents confirm the impact that such measures had on the economy of various countries in the region, as well as in Europe and in the United States of America.