Harnessing the flow: Mining, water, and energy in the Loa River basin (Chile, 1879–1956)

The transformation of the Atacama Desert into a global mining production hub required both material and conceptual changes to the territory. A critical factor in this process was the reframing of water as an exclusively economic resource. This article examines the geo-historical process of converting the waters of the Loa River into a key resource for mining development in the central Atacama Desert. Using Historical Political Ecology and Hybrid Geography approaches, the research draws on unpublished administrative historical archives. The use and appropriation of the Loa's waters involved a significant shift in power relations, accompanied by scientific and technical narratives as well as legal and material transformations that directly impacted the basin's historical activities and bio-physical characteristics. Ultimately, within the context of economic and political competition, the Loa's waters were transformed into virtual waters that flowed to the Global North in the form of nitrates and copper. • Examines how materiality, discourse, and knowledge shape resource-making processes. • Reveals long-term inequalities through a Historical Political Ecology approach. • Explores how Loa River water appropriation transformed Northern Chile's mining. • Analyzes how new water governance favored large-scale mining over local needs.