Argentina to ship copper via Chilean ports, cutting Asian export costs 25%
Chile and Argentina have revived a 28-year-old mining treaty to route Argentine copper and lithium through Chilean Pacific ports, a move that could cut export costs to Asia by up to a quarter and accelerate the region's supply of critical minerals.
On July 7, Chile and Argentina reactivated a binational mining commission in Buenos Aires, reviving a treaty that had sat dormant for nearly three decades. The agreement opens Chile’s Pacific ports to Argentine copper and lithium exports.
For mining investors, the appeal is a straightforward reduction in freight costs. Argentina’s richest mineral deposits sit high in the Andes, much closer to Chile’s coast than to its own Atlantic ports. By routing shipments through Chilean ports like Antofagasta, Mejillones and Iquique via the Los Libertadores pass, miners can cut the journey by roughly 40 percent and lower transport costs to Asia by 15 to 25 percent.
The timing aligns with surging global demand driven by the energy transition. Forecasts point to sharply higher copper demand and a multiplying of lithium use by 2040. Argentina is racing to supply this market, with the government of Javier Milei cutting red tape to convert announced investments in provinces like San Juan into operating mines.
Chile brings a century of extractive experience and a project pipeline valued at more than $20 billion. The goal is to pair Argentine reserves with Chilean infrastructure and its network of over 8,000 mining suppliers. Chile’s foreign minister described his country as "Argentina’s natural partner and its Pacific outlet the shortest path between Andean minerals and Asia’s fast-growing markets."
The corridor could handle 300 to 500 loaded trucks daily, generating new business in warehousing, customs and sampling. Chilean specialists argue "the real prize... is building a complete logistics chain, from border crossings and bonded warehouses to certification and financing services."
The arrangement carries significant execution risks. Environmental groups caution that the 1990s-era treaty conflicts with modern protections for glaciers and scarce water resources in the high Andes. Investors must also weigh the threat of commodity-price volatility against the physical constraints of moving heavy truck traffic through mountain passes.
