Major commodity trader Trafigura has completed the first sale of low-carbon-intensive copper anodes produced by the Kamoa-Kakula complex in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to be transported via the Lobito Atlantic Railway.
The anodes have been delivered to Trafigura's dry port facility in Kolwezi, DRC, and will soon be shipped from the Port of Lobito to Aurubis Group, a leading global provider of non-ferrous metals, for use in its European refining operations.
"This initial delivery marks a significant step towards producing some of the world’s lowest-carbon refined copper," the company said in a statement.
The recently commissioned state-of-the-art copper smelter at the Kamoa-Kakula incorporates cutting-edge direct-to-blister technology to drastically reduce carbon footprint from copper production.
The Kamoa-Kakula mining complex, a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining, has signed three offtake agreements for its copper anodes, including one with Trafigura. It plans to ramp up production of 99.7%-pure copper anode to 500,000 tonnes per year.
"Copper produced at Kamoa-Kakula, transported via the Lobito Atlantic Railway and refined in Aurubis’s industry-leading low-carbon facilities in Europe, represents a new paradigm in the creation of the greenest and most sustainable refined copper supply chain serving global markets," said Ivanhoe founder and executive co-chairman Robert Friedland.
The sale was made possible thanks to the support of the governments of the DRC and Angola, as well as the loan package provided by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Trafigura said.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
