Huachipato is census district and neighbourhood in
Talcahuano Commune, part of the
conurbation
A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...
of
Greater Concepción
Gran Concepción is the third largest conurbation in Chile, after Greater Santiago and Greater Valparaíso, with 945,650 inhabitants according to the 2012 pre census.
Overview
It takes its name after the city of Concepción, the regional cap ...
in the
Biobío Region
The Biobío Region ( ) is one of Chile's sixteen regions (first-order administrative divisions). With a population of 1.5 million, thus being the third most populated region in Chile, it is divided into three provinces: Arauco, Biobío and C ...
of southern
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
.
[, 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
The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...
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
Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate good used by the iron industry in the production of steel. It is developed by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with si ...
from the aging steel mill in
Corral
A pen is a fenced/walled open-air enclosure for holding land animals in captivity, typically for livestock but may also be used for holding other domesticated animals such as pets that are unwanted inside buildings. The term describes types ...
, the
Chilean Development Corporation (CORFO) decided to support building a new steel mill in Huachipato.
Compañía de Acero del Pacífico
The Compañía de Acero del Pacífico, also known by its acronym CAP, is the main iron and steel industry of Chile with its main facilities at Huachipato near the port of Talcahuano in Bío Bío Region.
As result of Allende's nationalization
...
was formed 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. 153][Millán 1999, p. 154]
The same year that construction of the steel mill started, a football club,
Club Deportivo Huachipato
Huachipato FC is a Chilean football club based in Talcahuano that currently plays in the Chilean Primera División. Huachipato was founded on 7 June 1947 by workers of the homonymous steel mill in Talcahuano, and it currently plays its home g ...
, 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
Empresa Nacional del Petróleo, or ENAP (English: ''National Petroleum Company'') is a state-owned company in Chile, based in Las Condes. The company is engaged in the exploration, production, refining, and marketing of hydrocarbons and their de ...
(ENAP) opened an oil refinery in Huachipato.
References
*
{{Concepcion
Populated places in Concepción Province