Lobito Corridor America & EU last chance for Atlantic Ocean exit
The Atlantic Ocean, although tantalizingly close was yet unused until a trial shipment of copper in December 2023 was sent by the long dormant “Lobito rail line”. Currently, copper concentrate and cobalt mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia are directed towards the Indian Ocean. The black line in the image above points south to a truck route, and journey of 3,000 km (1,815 miles) and up to 50 days round trip to Port of Durban, South Africa into the Indian Ocean. The red rail line heading east, a component of China’s BRI, cuts 2,190 km. (1,360 miles) and 40 days from the journey through Tanzania to Dar es Salaam, and onwards towards Asia. The third, heading westwards to Port Lobito in Angola a journey of just 1,290 km (800 miles). The serrated lines represent rail lines under expansion to extend into Zambia’s copper belt. Happily, the Lobito Rail Line, the oldest, closest, and ignored until December 2023, as per the style of western governments, has come to fruition.
The Lobito Rail Line was laid in the early 20th century era during the European colonization of central Africa for those same metals. The rail line was fairly active until Angola’s civil war in the 1970s, then became mostly defunct. Finally, until earlier this year, the U.S. and EU pledged partial funding for rail infrastructure, a first for both entities. However, the bulk of the project is expected to be completed by industry players outside the U.S. It is noteworthy that the rail line has not been entirely free of Chinese involvement that refurbished a significant portion of the line in 2014, but it has yet to be fully utilized.
The involvement of Ivanhoe Mines, and Trafigura just the few not Chinese owned or operated mining companies in the DRC and Zambia, will serve as a measure of the project’s success. Ivanhoe and Trafigura have signed five year contracts to send between 120,000 and 240,000 copper concentrate along the route. The hoped for total is one million tons by 2030.
