The cargo follows a number of earlier shipments of copper to ports in Europe and the Far East for the reason that Lobito Atlantic Railway took over the concession in January of this yr.
LAR, a three way partnership backed by Trafigura, Portuguese building group Mota-Engil and railway operator Vecturis, was granted a 30-year concession in 2022 to function the 1,300-kilometer rail community.
The six-day rail journey demonstrated “the time-efficient western path to market that’s now accessible for minerals and metals produced within the Congolese Copperbelt,” Trafigura mentioned.
The Lobito hall is seen as a key export route from mines in Congo and Zambia for minerals crucial to the vitality transition, together with copper and cobalt.
The US and EU, below the Group of Seven’s Partnership for World Infrastructure and Funding, are supporting the venture as a part of efforts to counter China’s dominance within the Central African Copperbelt.