Currently, Kamoa-Kakula trucks its copper concentrates by road across sub-Saharan Africa to the ports of Durban in South Africa, Dar es Saleem in Tanzania, Beira in Mozambique, and Walvis Bay in Namibia
Ivanhoe Mines to commence exports of concentrate from Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex. (Credit: Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.)
Ivanhoe Mines Executive Co-Chair Robert Friedland and President Marna Cloete announce today that Kamoa Copper S.A. (Kamoa Copper) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Lobito Atlantic International SARL (“LAI”, or the “Consortium”), for the transportation of Kamoa-Kakula’s copper concentrate by rail to the Atlantic Ocean port of Lobito in Angola.
The rail line linking the DRC Copperbelt to the port of Lobito, Angola is known as the “Lobito Atlantic Railway Corridor” or “Lobito Corridor”. The rail line extends for 1,739 kilometres from Lobito to Kolwezi in the DRC, passing within five kilometres of the Kamoa-Kakula licence boundary and through the Western Foreland exploration licences (shown in Figure 2).
In July 2022, the Consortium was formally awarded a 30-year concession for railway services and support logistics in Angola. LAI is a consortium comprised of leading global commodities trading group Trafigura Pte Ltd; Mota-Engil Engenharia e Construcao Africa SA (“Mota-Engil”), an international construction and infrastructure management company that first started operating in Angola in 1946; and Vecturis SA, an independent rail operator.
The Consortium has committed to invest $455 million in Angola and up to a further $100 million in the DRC on the improvement of the Lobito Corridor’s rail infrastructure, capacity and safety, including rolling stock consisting of over 1,500 wagons and 35 locomotives. There is also potential for additional investment in the future as the opportunity is explored to further extend the Lobito Corridor into Zambia.
The Lobito Corridor will reduce pressure on the country’s other logistics corridors. This is expected to not only reduce the cost of exporting from, but also reduce the cost of importing into the DRC Copperbelt. Thereby, accelerating DRC’s, social and economic development, as well as the industrialization of the wider region.
The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, His Excellency Mr Felix Tshisekedi, made the following comments in a recent television interview with La Radio-Télévision Nationale Congolaise (RTNC):
“I am very committed to cooperation with our neighbours. We gain two partners in the [Lobito Corridor] project, Angola and Zambia. This will benefit our populations nearby and further away… Indeed that is the goal, to create national integration, resulting in ease of movement for goods and people inside our country… So that the various regions can engage in trade among themselves.”
“We have no time to stop and enjoy our small victories. We need to work hard…The interest of the people must be taken into account and we are focused on that… The priority for me is to protect our population and ensure they are healthy… I want this country to be stable so that we can focus on our development over the long term.”
Ivanhoe Mines’ Founder and Executive Co-Chairman, Robert Friedland commented:
“The Lobito Corridor is set to become a crucial trade route for copper and other critical minerals from a uniquely strategic region of Africa… metals that are so desperately needed for our planet’s energy transition. Thanks to the forward-thinking investments by our shareholders CITIC, who originally upgraded the port and rail line, there is now the possibility of open access rail from the Copperbelt to the deep-water, Atlantic Ocean port of Lobito. This type of modern infrastructure will be critical as mines like Kamoa-Kakula continue to expand, and
as more tier-one copper discoveries are made in the Western Foreland… the best copper hunting ground on the planet.
“The Lobito Corridor is the shortest and most direct export and import route from the Copperbelt to the seaborne international market, which should provide for quicker turnaround times and lower costs. Most importantly, logistics on the rail corridor will incur significantly lower carbon emissions than the alternative by truck – further enhancing Kamoa-Kakula’s commitment to produce ultra-green copper.
“The U.S. Government’s support for the Lobito Corridor and proposed financing highlights the need for a coordinated global effort to upgrade infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa. To tackle the challenges of climate change, international cooperation is essential in developing responsible supply chains. This collaboration must involve local communities, ensuring a sustainable and ethical approach to extracting minerals in the areas where they are found.”
Source: Company Press Release