Strategic partnership: Trafigura and Kamoa-Kakula choose the Lobito Atlantic Railway for the transport of minerals in Africa

In the world of mining, strategic partnerships are essential to facilitate the transportation and export of minerals. This is why Trafigura and Kamoa-Kakula recently signed partnership agreements to use the Lobito Atlantic Railway to transport minerals for a minimum period of six years.

These agreements are significant as they mark the first long-term commercial commitments to the Lobito Atlantic Railway, a new trade route linking the African Copperbelt to Angola’s Atlantic coast. Through this partnership, the Lobito Atlantic Railway is expected to reach an annual export capacity of one million tonnes by the end of the decade.

Trafigura, a global commodities trading company, will benefit from an export capacity allocation of 450,000 tonnes per year from 2025. For its part, the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex, a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining will benefit from a minimum capacity of 120,000 tonnes per year from 2025.

This partnership is welcomed with enthusiasm, both by Trafigura and Kamoa-Kakula. Jeremy Weir, Executive Chairman and CEO of Trafigura, expressed his satisfaction with the use of the Lobito Atlantic Railway for long-term mineral transportation. He also highlighted the importance of this partnership to strengthen the rail transport corridor in sub-Saharan Africa.

For his part, Robert Friedland, founder and co-executive chairman of Ivanhoe Mines, highlighted the benefits of this partnership, including reduced logistics costs, allowing more copper mining projects to be exploited in the region.

The Lobito Atlantic Railway is a key project for the development of the mining industry in Africa. It is supported by the governments of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, as well as the U.S. government’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment (PGII).

In conclusion, the partnership agreements between Trafigura and Kamoa-Kakula for the transport of minerals via the Lobito Atlantic Railway are an important step in the development of this new trade route in Africa. These partnerships will strengthen the railway’s export capacity and facilitate the transport of essential minerals such as copper to global markets.