Luanda, Feb. 10, 2026 (Lusa) – Entreprise Générale du Cobalt (EGC) and Trafigura announced on Monday the first delivery of copper and cobalt to international markets via the Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR), "a decisive step" in the development of the supply chain.
Trafigura, in a statement released on Monday, said the operation was a "decisive step" in the development of a "faster, more efficient and transparent" supply chain for minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The operation underlines the strategic importance of the Lobito Corridor in transporting mineral resources from the DRC to customers around the world, the statement said, noting that LAR stretches for about 1,300 kilometres, connecting the deep-water port of Lobito (Angola) to the border with the DRC in Luau.
The infrastructure, which also includes an additional 450-kilometre connection to Kolwezi, the centre of the Congolese Copper Belt, reduces transport time by around seven days compared to other alternatives.
According to EGC's executive director, Eric Kalala, quoted in the statement, the agreement demonstrates that "it is possible to ensure an ethical, transparent and traceable supply of copper and cobalt from large-scale artisanal production".
Franck Rogozin, Trafigura's Director of Metals and Minerals for Africa, said that the collaboration with EGC demonstrates the importance of strong partnerships between producers and commercial operators, "enabling the resilience of global supply chains for critical metals and minerals to be strengthened through the most efficient transport route from the DRC's Copperbelt".
LAR's executive director, Nicholas Fournier, said at the time that LAR is an open-access regional asset that positions Angola and the DRC as "key players in the supply of minerals essential to the energy transition, digitalisation and industrialisation".
LAR is owned by shareholders Trafigura, Mota-Engil and Vecturis. It recently got $753 million in financing from the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) for the rehabilitation and continued expansion of railway infrastructure, the statement added.
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