Huachipato is census district and neighbourhood in Talcahuano Commune, part of the conurbation of Greater Concepción in the Biobío Region of southern Chile., United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency It is the industrialized part of the commune supporting a steel mill and oil refinery.
Etymology The word huachipato is a Mapuche word meaning "a trap to catch birds". It may be the result of a mixture of Spanish and Mapuche, where the local name for a snare is huache or huachi.
Demographics The district is completely urban and had a population of 9,665 as of the 2002 census with 2,415 housing units.
History Because of the high cost of pig iron from the aging steel mill in Corral, the Chilean Development Corporation (CORFO) decided to support building a new steel mill in Huachipato. Compañía de Acero del Pacífico was formedIt was created with mixed ownership by CORFO, which retained a 33% interest for the government, the Autonomous Sinking Fund of Public Debt (Caja Autónoma de Amortización de la Deuda Pública) put up 14% and individual private shareholders purchased the remaining 53%. The steel mill is now run by their corporate division "CAP Acero". and began construction in 1947. The mill now named "Siderúrgica Huachipato" was completed in 1950. From the 1960s to the 1990s the mine of El Romeral provided most of the iron to the mill.Millán 1999, p. 153Millán 1999, p. 154
The same year that construction of the steel mill started, a football club, Club Deportivo Huachipato, was founded. As their initial fans were employees of the local steel company, they adopted the nickname Acereros ("Steelers").
In 1966 Empresa Nacional del Petróleo (ENAP) opened an oil refinery in Huachipato.
The steel mill the town grew around was shut down on October 22, 2024, largely due to the inability to compete with cheaper Chinese steel prices and growing financial losses.
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