Angola train derailment impacts Lobito copper shipments
A train derailment on Angola’s Lobito Corridor has impacted the haulage of commodities including copper concentrates, the company operating the railway line said on Friday.
The corridor provides a trade route between the resource-rich Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola’s Lobito port on the Atlantic ocean, which is strategic to the United States and European Union as they seek greater access to minerals needed for the transition to cleaner energy technologies.
The incident took place between the Cavimbe and Cangumbe stations on Thursday and involved a train hauling sulphur, Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR) said in a statement.
No casualties were reported and repairs on the damaged 400 metres of track would be done over four days, the company added.
“LAR will prioritize the passenger trains and the fuel trains, resuming international sulfur and copper trains thereafter,” the company said.
LAR, a joint venture backed by global commodities trader Trafigura, Portuguese construction group Mota-Engil and railway operator Vecturis, was in 2022 granted a 30-year concession to operate the 1,300 kilometre rail network.