• 3 min de lectura
• 3 min de lectura
The Mining Month is an opportunity to recognize the contribution of this industry to Antofagasta, as well as to reflect on the challenges we face as a region to remain competitive in a constantly transforming global scenario.
Mark Bindhoff is the General Manager of Antofagasta Terminal Internacional
Our region enjoys a privileged strategic position. We have a world-class mining industry, logistics expertise, consolidated port infrastructure, specialized suppliers, and human capital that, for decades, have allowed us to connect the production of northern Chile with different international markets.
Ports are a link in that ecosystem. In 2025 alone, Antofagasta Terminal Internacional transferred close to 2.8 million tons of cargo, responding to the requirements of metallic and non-metallic mining - both national and from neighboring countries - and various industries that demand safe, efficient, and reliable port operations.
In turn, the energy transition is reconfiguring supply chains and introducing new logistical flows and inputs. A concrete example is the growth of BESS energy storage solutions. To date, ATI has unloaded more than 1,500 units of this system, an indispensable technology for the advancement of renewable energies.
In parallel, Cochilco projects that global lithium demand will reach 1.56 million tons of lithium carbonate in 2026, 16% more than the previous year, something to add given the city's proximity to the world's largest reserves of "white gold," in addition to the dynamism of copper and lithium prices that vitalize the entire industry, as well as the reactivation of capital projects.
The development of the Bioceanic Corridor also opens opportunities. The road integration between Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and the ports of northern Chile consolidates our territory as a gateway for intra-regional trade, articulating a key platform for the transfer of new cargo to and from Asia-Pacific markets.
In this scenario, growth does not only imply mobilizing more cargo, but also expanding capacities to serve different industries, incorporating technology, and responding with high standards of sustainability and efficiency.
Antofagasta's qualitative leap consists of ceasing to be conceived only as an attractive exit point to become an integral logistics hub for exchange for a much broader productive area, capable of adding value to goods and services in transit. This territory is capable of making existing port infrastructure profitable and scalable, as well as revitalizing the local economy by attracting new industries and specialized services.
At ATI, we understand this role. Since 2003, as a multipurpose terminal, we have accompanied and adapted to the productive development of Antofagasta. Today we have capabilities that can be put at the service of logistical integration, providing sustainable solutions tailored to the needs of our clients.
The challenge is to connect these capabilities through a narrative and work with a common vision: a region that not only exports its resources to the world but consolidates itself as a platform capable of connecting the Southern Cone with global markets and generating new development opportunities for our region.
