Cobalt and copper sourced from DRC artisanal miners to be transported on Lobito corridor
In a milestone for the Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR), which links the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to a deep-water port in Angola, Entreprise Générale du Cobalt (EGC) and Trafigura have agreed the first delivery of copper and cobalt on the corridor.
EGC is a State-owned entity mandated to purchase cobalt from artisanal producers in the DRC and Trafigura has an existing agreement to market cobalt supplied by EGC.
EGC CEO Eric Kalala said the use of LAR demonstrated that progress toward ethical, traceable and transparent sourcing of artisanal cobalt and copper at scale was both achievable and sustainable.
The EGC shipment would be sent initially to customers in the US in line with the US-DRC strategic partnership agreement.
Trafigura head of metals and minerals for Africa Franck Rogozin said the company was delighted to be working with EGC to facilitate responsibly sourced shipments of copper and cobalt to global markets via the most efficient transport route from the DRC Copperbelt.
Owned solely by Trafigura, Mota-Engil and Vecturis, the LAR comprises a 1 300-km rail line linking the deep-water port of Lobito on Angola’s Atlantic coast to the DRC border at Luau, with a further 450-km extension to the DRC copperbelt in Kolwezi.
The railway recently secured $753-million in debt financing from the International Development Finance Corporation, of the US, and the Development Bank of Southern Africa, of South Africa, in support of its rehabilitation and expansion.
“LAR is a true regional asset, open to all users, and a catalyst for positioning Angola and the DRC as key players in providing the metals and minerals needed for decarbonisation, digitisation, and industrialisation,” LAR CEO Nicholas Fournier said.
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