Ivanhoe Mines said the first shipment of copper concentrate from the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo has arrived by rail at the Atlantic Ocean port of Lobito in Angola.
“Our first trial shipment is an important milestone on the path to creating a new supply chain linking the Central African Copperbelt to world markets,” said Robert Friedland, Ivanhoe Mines founder and executive co-chairman.
“Establishing a reliable, modern rail link to the port of Lobito in Angola will have transformational benefits for the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and Zambia.”
The initial shipment of 1,110 tonnes is part of the trial tonnage under the memorandum of understanding signed between Lobito Atlantic International SARL and Kamoa Copper in August. The agreement will see the transportation of up to 10,000 tonnes of copper concentrate from Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 1 and 2 concentrators along the Lobito Corridor with information gathered on greenhouse gas savings, transit times, operating costs and other factors.
Currently, Kamoa-Kakula trucks its copper concentrates by road across sub-Saharan Africa to the ports of Durban in South Africa and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, as well as Beira in Mozambique and Walvis Bay in Namibia.
Once fully active, the Lobito Atlantic Railway Corridor is expected to significantly improve the logistics costs and reduce the Scope 3 emissions carbon footprint of Kamoa-Kakula copper exports. The development of Ivanhoe’s current and future copper discoveries within the Western Foreland basin will also greatly benefit from the Lobito Corridor, noted the miner.
Source: Ivanhoe Mines