Antofagasta Province

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**Provincia de Antofagasta**
Location in the Antofagasta Region
Country Region	Chile Antofagasta
Capital	Antofagasta
Area	65,987 km²
Population - Total - Density	318,779 (2002 Census) /km²
Communes	Antofagasta Mejillones Sierra Gorda Taltal

The Province of Antofagasta is part of Antofagasta Region of Chile with an area of 65,987 square km located within the Atacama Desert. It borders Loa Province and Tocopilla Province in the north, Bolivia in the west and Atacama Region in the south. The capital is Antofagasta.

It is rich in saline and other mineral deposits, the important Caracoles silver mines being about 90 miles north-east of the port of Antofagasta. Like the other provinces of this region, Antofagasta produces for export copper, silver, silver ores, lead, nitrate of soda, borax and salt. Iron and manganese ores are also found.

Besides Antofagasta the principal towns are Taltal, Mejillones, Cobija (the old capital) and Tocopilla.

Before 1866, this region was disputed and claimed by Chile and Bolivia. Between 1866 to 1879 the province contractually belonged to Bolivia, and was known as the department of Atacama, or the Litoral. It fell into the possession of Chile in the War of the Pacific of 1879-84, and was forcefully ceded to that republic in 1904. This is disputed by Bolivia as the forced takeover of part of a country by a stronger nation