DRC Exports to US First Shipment of Copper via Lobito Corridor

On 19 August 2024, Trafigura Group announced that the first load of #copper cathodes has been loaded onto a ship at Lobito Port destined for Baltimore. The copper was transported from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) via the #LobitoCorridor and the journey took six days from the Congolese #Copperbelt to the Atlantic Coast.

Copper is one of the #CriticalMinerals which is found in large reserves along the Lobito Corridor spanning Zambia and DRC. Other than Copper, #Cobalt and #Lithium may also be shipped along the upgraded railway line.

The copper cargo was loaded onto the MSC SAMU container vessel. Previously, copper was also exported via the #LobitoCorridor to Europe and China, but this particular shipment represents the first to the USA.

In 2022, the Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR) signed a 30-year concession to operate the railway line along the #LobitoCorridor. The LAR is actually a JV among commodity trader Trafigura, EPC Mota-Engil and railway operator Vecturis.

The #LobitoCorridor is a flagship project under the US Program for Global Infrastructure and Investment (#PG2I) and EU Global Gateway Initiative (#GGI). The railway track links the Lobito Port in Angola to Kolwezi in South DRC, and then extends into Zambian Copperbelt.