First Cargo Train of Copper Ore Arrives at Lobito
On Sunday morning, December 31st, Lobito witnessed the arrival of a groundbreaking cargo train carrying 960 tons of unprocessed copper ore from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kolwezi region.
Departing from the Luau station in Moxico province on a Friday evening at 4:30 PM, the seventeen-vehicle train, including a GE C30ACi locomotive and 16 LC-type wagons, traveled 1,289 kilometers for 38 hours to reach the Lobito Commercial Port.
This monumental arrival signaled the first ore shipment post the transfer agreement of railway services and logistics support for the Lobito Corridor inked between the Angolan Government and the Lobito Atlantic Railway consortium on July 4, 2023.
Artur Silva, the Commercial Director of Lobito Atlantic Railways (LAR), marked the shipment as an experimental endeavor, inaugurating a series of anticipated shipments starting from January 2024.
These will aim to transport ten thousand tons of minerals from the Katanga region in the Democratic Republic of Congo through the Lobito Corridor to international markets, primarily Europe and Asia.
While the duration of the cargo’s stay at Lobito Port and its precise destination weren’t specified, Silva assured of the site’s secure handling and packaging procedures before export.
Fausto Carvalho, the Commercial Director of the Benguela Railway Company (CFB), highlighted the shipment’s significance in diversifying the country’s economy.
He emphasized the collaborative effort involving national entities, the State, and multinational corporations within the LAR consortium, which augurs well for Angola’s economic trajectory.
This milestone event builds on history, as the Lobito Corridor, after years of suspension, facilitated its first raw copper ore shipment on March 5, 2018, from the Tenken mines in the DRC.
The reopening of this commercial route, suspended for over four decades between Lobito (Angola) and Kolwezi (DRC), has been seen as a catalyst for a new era in the region’s economic landscape.
Typically, Congolese copper has been exported via ports in Beira, Mozambique; Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania; or Durban, South Africa.
