 In 1824 the government declared the "Salinas" or salt mines as national patrimony of the nation establishing a regulatory price control.In 1932 the bank of the Republic was given authority over the administration and exploitation of salt mines in Zipaquirá, Nemocón and Sesquilé.Industrial exploitation and processing of salt in Manaure began in the 1920s when the government gave concessions to individual investors for the exploitation of the salt mine and until the 1940s the mode of collection went from artisan to industrial, when the Bank of the Republic took over the Manaure salt mines.