Ivanhoe Mines’ first copper shipment from Kamoa-Kakula arrives in Angola
Ivanhoe Mines has announced the arrival of its first shipment of copper concentrate from the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex through the Lobito Atlantic Railway Corridor to the port of Lobito in Angola.
The first shipment is part of the trial tonnage under the memorandum of understanding (MOU) inked between Lobito Atlantic International SARL (LAI or the Consortium) and Kamoa Copper S.A. The trial shipment involves the transportation of up to 10,000 tonnes of copper concentrate from Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 1 and 2 concentrators along the Lobito Corridor.
Approximately 1,110 tonnes of copper concentrate were loaded on rail wagons at the Impala Terminals warehouse in Kolwezi and departed for the port of Lobito on December 23, 2023. The shipment arrived at the port of Lobito on December 31, 2023, after an 8-day journey.
Lobito Atlantic Railway Corridor
The Lobito Atlantic Railway Corridor extends 1,289 kilometers from the port of Lobito to the Angola-DRC border town of Luau. It then extends a further 450 kilometers into the DRC, reaching Kolwezi. The rail line passes within five kilometers of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex license boundary and through the Western Foreland Exploration Project.
The Lobito Corridor is supported by a consortium (LAI) comprised of Trafigura Pte Ltd., Mota-Engil Engenharia e Construcao Africa SA, and Vecturis SA. The Consortium has committed to investing $455 million in Angola and up to an additional $100 million in the DRC for the improvement of the Lobito Corridor’s rail infrastructure, capacity, and safety. This investment includes rolling stock consisting of over 1,500 wagons and 35 locomotives.
The use of the Lobito Corridor is expected to reduce logistics costs and the Scope 3 emissions carbon footprint of Kamoa-Kakula copper exports. The rail transportation is quicker and significantly less energy-intensive compared to the previous method of trucking copper concentrates by road to various ports in sub-Saharan Africa. The Lobito Corridor is anticipated to have transformational benefits for the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, and Zambia.
Once fully active, the Lobito Atlantic Railway Corridor is expected to enhance the logistics costs and reduce the carbon footprint for Kamoa-Kakula copper exports. There is potential for additional investment in the future, including exploring the extension of the Lobito Corridor into Zambia.
