Lobito Corridor to transport 10,000 tons of copper from DRC
In the last quarter of 2023, ten thousand tons of copper concentrate, extracted by the Canadian company “Ivanhoe Mines,” will be transported through the Lobito Corridor (Benguela), reducing travel time on the railway link between countries in Southern Africa.
For this purpose, Ivanhoe Mines, which operates the copper mines of Kamoa-Kakula in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR) consortium, which manages the railway line of the Lobito Corridor, to transport this ore.
The signing of this memorandum, announced last Wednesday by the co-executive chairman of the Canadian mining company, Robert Friedland, without specifying the date and location of the signing, is the first commercial agreement reached by the LAR consortium, according to a press release.
According to this document, transporting copper via the railway line of the Lobito Corridor, which connects the DRC and the Port of Lobito over a distance of 1,739 kilometers, offers a faster alternative that significantly shortens travel days.
As an example, a round trip journey from Kamoa-Kakula to Durban (South Africa) takes 50 days, which will be reduced to only 20 days with the use of the Lobito Corridor.
Currently, according to the statement, Ivanhoe Mines transports its ore by road to the ports of Durban, Walvis Bay (Namibia), Beira (Mozambique), and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania).
Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on copper discovery and the reconstruction and modernization of the historic zinc, germanium, and silver mine of Kipushi in the DRC, as well as rhodium-gold exploration in South Africa.
Meanwhile, the concession for the Lobito Corridor was granted to the Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR) consortium and formalized on July 4, 2023, in a ceremony attended by the Presidents of Angola, the DRC, and Zambia.
Consisting of Trafigura (49.5%), Mota-Engil (49.5%), and Vecturis S.A (1%), LAR won the international tender on November 4, 2022, to manage the Lobito Corridor for 30 years.
In this regard, the Lobito Atlantic Railway is responsible for the transportation of heavy loads and the maintenance of the Benguela Railway (CFB) infrastructure.
Under the concession contract, the consortium committed to investing 455 million euros in Angola and another 100 million in the DRC to enhance the capacity and security of the Lobito Corridor infrastructure, as well as to purchase 35 locomotives and 1,500 carriages.
The Lobito Railway Corridor extends through almost 1,300 kilometers in Angola, passing through the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Bié, and Moxico.
Furthermore, the infrastructure continues into the Democratic Republic of Congo to Kolwezi, Zambia, covering a distance of 400 kilometers. The Corridor is also linked to the extensive railway network managed by the National Railway Society of Congo.
